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d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
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"'taiajn»jiaiea<---„ 


HISTORY 


OF   THE 


Huguenot  Emigration 


TO 


America 


BV 


CHARLES  VV.   BAIRD,  D.D. 


♦5 

V. 


Volume  r 


"EW     YORK- 
DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPA.VV 

''UBUSHERS 


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a 


e  A  /^^; 


ct^ 


a>79 


7240 


Copyright,  1885, 

BV 

DODD.  MEAD  &  COMPANY. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VOLUME  I. 

Bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.     Villegagnon's  Island ......  Facing  title-page. 

Mouth  of  St.  John's  River,  Florida Pa  e  6 

Fort  Caroline  ;   from    a  view  in   the  Brevis  Narratio 

of  Jacques  Lemoyne  de  Mourgues .• 

Map:  Acadia  and  part  of  Canada Facing  page  79 

Facsimile  :  Signatures   of    the  Walloon  and  French 

Petitioners ..  ..    ^^^ 

Map:   St.  Christopher   (St.    Kitts).   Guadeloupe,  and 

Martinique,  West  Indies 

201 

Basse-Terre,  St.  Kitts  ;  and  the  Island  of  Nevis "         ••    204 

La  Rochelle;  from  the  Outer  Port...  ..         ..      ^ 

204 

The   "Temple"  of   La   Rochelle;  built  in  the  year 
1630,  and  demolished  March  i,  1685 ..         ..   g^^ 

La  Rochelle ;  from  the  Inner  Port ..         ..       q 

•  ••>••....  3-^^ 

Map :   Provinces  of   Saintonge,   Aunis  and  Poitou, 

France 

End. 


PREFACE. 


I  have  undertaken  to  narrate  the  coming  of  the  perse- 
cuted Protestants  of  France  to  the  New  World,  and  their 
establishment,  particularly  in  the  seaboard  provinces  now 
comprehended  within  the  United  States.  This  movement 
and  settlement  took  place  principally  at  the  time  of  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  But  before  that  period, 
important  emigrations  had  alieady  occurred  ;  emigrations 
to  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  to  Canada,  to  the  French  West 
Indies,  and,  by  way  of  Holland,  to  the  Dutch  possession 
of  i^ew  Netherland — now  New  York.  And  still  earlier, 
the  effort  had  been  made  by  Coligny — unsuccessfully,  indeed 
— to  plant  a  colony  and  provide  a  retreat  for  the  French 
Calvinists,  first  in  Brazil,  and  afterward  in  Florida. 

The  volumes  now  submitted  to  the  public  treat  first  of 
these  antecedent  movements,  and  then  take  up  the  narrative 
of  the  events  that  led  to  the  more  considerable  and  more 
effective  emigration,  in  the  latter  years  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  The  attempt  has  been  made,  in  connection  with  a 
brief  account  of  the  Huguenots,  before  their  exodus  from 
France,'  to  trace  the  fortunes  of  many  who  ultimately 
reached  this  country.  The  recital  is  by  no  means  to  be 
regarded  as  exhaustive.  It  is  presented  rather  as  illustrative 
of  the  subject.     Yet  the  number  of  families  whose  places  of 

'  Of  the  works  devoted  to  the  consideration  of  this  topic,  the  latest 
— the  History  of  the  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France,  by  my  brother 
Professor  Henry  M.  Baird — is  already  widely  known.  Two  volumes,  on 
The  Huguenots  and  Henry  the  Fourth,  will  soon  succeed  that  publication, 
to  be  followed — it  is  hoped — by  others,  covering  the  period  of  struggle 
and  suffering,  down  to  the  Edict  of  Toleration. 


IV 


PREFACE. 


!        ! 
i        i 


\  I 


origination  I  have  ascertained,  and  of  whose  flight  from 
France  some  particulars  at  least  have  been  gathered,  consti- 
tutes no  small  portion  of  the  whole  number  known  to  have 
come  to  America  :  and  the  exemplification  of  their  adven- 
tures here  given,  may  be  taken,  it  is  believed,  as  a  picture, 
tolerably  correct,  of  the  entire  history. 

Of  the  settlement  in  America,  at  the  period  of  the  Revo- 
cation, the  present  work  includes  only  the  part  relating  to 
New  England.  In  another  work  I  propose  to  treat  of  the 
settlement  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  provinces  or  States — 
in  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Per  ylvania  and  Delaware — 
and  in  Maryland,  Virginia  and  So^lh  Carolina. 

The  story  of  *he  Huguenot  emigration  to  America  has 
remained,  till  now,  unwritten.  This  has  not  been  due  to  a 
lack  of  interest  in  the  subject,  nor  to  a  failure  to  recognize 
its  importance.  Many  a  glowing  tribute  has  been  paid  to 
the  memory  of  the  persecuted  exiles,  and  many  a  thoughtful 
estimate  has  been  formed,  of  the  value  of  the  contribu- 
tion made  by  them  to  the  American  character  and  spirit. 
No  traditions  have  been  more  fondly  and  reverently  cher- 
ished among  us,  than  those  concerning  the  hardships  and 
sufferings  of  the  fugitives  from  France  :  and  no  names  are 
more  honored  than  the  names,  of  foreign  cast,  that  indicate 
descent  from  them.  Yet  there  has  scarcely  been  a  serious 
attempt  to  set  in  order  the  facts  that  have  been  known  with 
reference  to  this  theme  ;  much  less,  to  delve  into  the  mass 
of  documentary  evidence  that  might  be  supposed  to  exist. 
The  entire  literature  of  the  subject,  to  the  present  day,  may 
be  said  to  consist  of  little  more  than  a  few  newspaper  and 
magazine  articles,  a  few  passages  of  works  upon  more  gen- 
eral themes,'  and  a  few  valuable  monographs  relating  to 
local  settlements. 

'  I  do  not  forget  that  the  episode  of  "  The  Huguenots  in  Florida  "  has 
been  told  by  the  brilliant  historian  of  New  France,  in  his  graphic  way, 
and  that  a  brief  account  of  De  Monts'  settlement  in  Acadia  is  embodied 
in  the  same  volume.  (Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World,  by 
Francis  Parkman.)  But  that  episode  is  rather  introductory  to  the  history 
of  the  Huguenots  in  America,  than  a  part  of  it ;  and  both  these  inci- 
dents are  related  by  Mr.  Parkman  as  subordinate  to  his  special  theme : 
France  and  England  in  North  America. 


PREFACE.  ▼ 

My  attention  was  called  to  this  deficiency,  more  than 
thirty  years  ago,  when  M.  Charles  Weiss,  while  preparing  his 
important  "  History  of  the  French  Protestant  Refugees, 
from  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  to  our  Own 
Days,"  applied  to  my  father,  the  late  Reverend  Robert 
Baird,  D.D.,  for  direction  in  the  endeavor  to  obtain  inate- 
rials  for  an  account  of  the  Huguenot  colonists  in  the  United 
States.  Little  information  could  at  that  time  be  imparted, 
in  addition  to  the  brief  but  interesting  sketch  that  had 
already  appeared,  in  my  father's  book  entitled  "  Religion 
in  America ; " '  and  upon  that  sketch,  M.  Weiss  based 
the  greater  part  of  his  chapters  on  th*^  Refugees  in 
America. 

The  present  work  is  the  fruit  of  investigations  that  have 
been  carried  on,  in  this  country,  and  in  France  and  En- 
gland, during  the  last  ten  or  twelve  years.  The  materials 
used  have  been  found  largely  in  unpublished  documents. 
Manuscripts  in  the  possession  of  the  descendants  of  refu- 
gees ;  memorials,  petitions,  wills,  and  other  papers,  on  file  in 
public  offices  ;  the  records  of  a  few  of  the  early  French 
Churches  in  America  ;  the  registers  of  the  French  Churches 
in  England,  in  the  custody  of  the  Registrar-General,  Lon- 
don ;  the  letter-books  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  ;  documents  in  the  British  State 
Paper  Office,  and  in  the  National  Archives  of  France,  have 
constituted  a  precious  part  of  this  material.  Of  the  pub- 
lished works  that  have  aided  me,  the  most  important  have 
been,  the  volumes — now  numbering  thirty-three — of  the 
monthly  Bulletin  of  the  French  Protestant  Historical  So- 
ciety ;  the  volumes  of  La  France  Protestante,  the  second 
edition  of  which,  edited  by  M.  Henri  Bordier,  is  in  progress  ; 
the  histories  of  Protestantism  in  several  of  the  provinces  and 
chief  towns  of  France  ;  and  the  series  of  volumes  printed 
in  this  country  under  government  auspices,  comprising  doc- 


'  Religion  in  the  United  States  of  America.  By  the  Rev.  Robert 
Baird.  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  :  MDCCCXLIV.  Book  II.,  Chapter 
XII.  "  Religious  Character  of  the  early  Colonists:  Huguenots  from 
France."  A  revised  edition  was  published  in  the  year  1857,  by  Messrs. 
Harper  Brothers,  New  York. 


VI 


PREFACE. 


uments  relative  to  the  colonial  'ustory  of  several  of  the 
States. 

Of  traditions,  however  interesting,  I  have  taken  little 
account,  save  where  they  have  been  substantiated  through 
written  testimony,  or  incidentally  confirmed  by  established 
facts.  It  was  a  remark  of  Goethe,  which  Baron  Bunsen 
quotes  as  verified  under  his  own  observation,  that  tradition 
ceases,  after  three  generations  ;  in  the  fourth,  already,  every 
thing  is  either  myth,  or  documentary  history.'  Yet  I  have 
found  not  unfrequently,  and  sometimes  very  unexpectedly, 
that  the  legends  preserved  in  our  Huguenot  families  for  six 
or  seven  generations,  have  agreed,  in  the  main,  with  historic 
statements  ;  confirming,  in  their  turn,  the  atcounts  preserved 
in  more  durable  forms,  of  the  perils  and  sufferings  under- 
gone by  the  exiles. 

In  the  prosecution  of  these  researches,  I  have  been  fa- 
vored with  the  able  and  generous  assistance  of  many  fellow- 
laborers,  my  indebtedness  to  whom  I  gladly  acknowledge 
here.  To  none  of  them  have  I  owed  more,  than  to  M.  Henri 
Bordier,  of  Paris,  whose  labors  in  connec'.ion  with  the 
revision  of  La  France  Protestante  are  conferring  a  vast  ob- 
ligation upon  the  student  of  Huguenot  history  ;  to  M.  Jules 
Bonnet,  of  Paris,  the  accomplished  Editor  of  the  "  Bulletin 
de  la  soc.ete  de  I'histoire  du  protestantisme  fran^ais,"  and 
to  M.  W.  N.  du  Rieu,  Director  of  the  University  and 
Walloon  Libraries,  Leyden.  From  M.  Louis  Mcschinet  de 
Richemond,  of  La  Rochelle  ;  from  M.  James  Vaucher,  of 
Geneva  ;  and  from  M.  Philippe  Plan,  Librarian  of  the  Public 
Library  of  Geneva,  I  have  also  received  material  help. 

During  a  visit  to  London,  made  in  the  autumn  of  the 
year  1879,  I  experienced  the  greatest  courtesy  at  the  hands 
of  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  the  collections  of  documents 
that  I  had  occasion  to  consult.  My  thanks  are  especially 
dua  to  Mr.  Walford  D.  Selby,  of  the  Public  Record  Office  ; 
to  Mr.  John  Shoveller,  of  the  General  Register  Office,  Som- 
erset House  ;    and   to   Mr.    S.  W,    Kershaw,  Librarian  of 


Memoirs  of  Baron  Bunsen.     Vol.  II.,  p.  305. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


Lambeth  Palace  Library.  Since  that  visit,  I  have  received 
important  aid  from  these  gentlemen,  and  also  from  two  of 
the  Directors  of  the  French  Protestant  Hospital  in  London. 
Mr.  Arthur  Giraud  Browning,  and  Mr.  Henry  Wagner, 
F.  S.  A.,  who  have  spared  no  pains  to  procure  for  me  all 
needed  information  upon  the  subjects  of  my  inquiry. 

At  home,  I  have  enjoyed  the  invaluable  coopera'jon  of 
the  custodians  of  various  repositories  of  manuscripts  and 
books.  I  may  particularly  mention  Dr.  George  H.  Moore, 
Superintendent  of  the  Lenox  Library  ;  Mr.  Frederick 
Saunders,  Librarian  of  the  Astor  Library;  and  Mr.  B.  Fernow, 
of  Albany,  and  Dr.  Edward  Strong,  of  Boston,  who  have 
been  most  helpful  to  me  in  the  investigation  of  the  historical 
records  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  of  the  State  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. I  have  been  greatly  indebted  to  the  authorities 
of  the  French  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  "  du  St.  Esprit," 
and  of  the  Protestant  Reformed  Dutch  Churches  of  New 
York,  Kingston,  and  New  Paltz,  for  the  privilege  of  con- 
sulting the  ancient  records  in  their  keeping.  The  numerous 
manuscripts  of  Gabriel  Bernon,  perhaps  the  most  remarka- 
ble of  the  Huguenots  who  came  to  America  after  the 
Revocation,  have  been  kindly  intrusted  to  me  for  examination, 
by  Mr.  Sullivan  Dorr,  Mrs.  William  D.  Ely,  and  the  late  Mrs. 
Anne  Allen  Ives,  of  Providence,  Rhode  Island,  descendants 
of  that  distinguished  refugee.  The  Mascarene  papers, 
now  published  for  the  first  time,'  have  been  made  accessible 
to  me  through  the  courtesy  of  their  possessor.  Miss  Mary 
W.  Nichols,  of  Danvers,  Massachusetts.  These  interesting 
documents,  upon  the  death  of  the  last  male  descendant  of 
Jean  Mascarene,  passed  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Edward 
Augustus  Holyoke,  of  Sulem,  the  ancestor  of  the  lady  named. 

I  have  received  important  help,  the  value  of  which 
will  appear  in  future  volumes,  rather  than  in  these,  from 
Professor  Frederick  A.  Porcher,  President  of  the  South 
Carolina     Historical    Society,    from    the    Reverend     Dr. 


'  A  transl  ition  of  one  of  these  papers  appeared  in  the  New  England 
Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  No.  CXXXIX.    (July,  1881.) 


VI 11 


PREFACE. 


Charles  S.  Vedder,  and  from  Mr.  Langdon  Cheves,  of 
Charleston.  My  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  William  Kelby, 
of  the  New  York  Historical  Society  ;  to  the  Reverend  Dr. 
Benjamin  F.  De  Costa  ;  to  Mr.  John  William  Potts,  of 
Camden,  New  Jersey,  and  to  Mr.  James  A.  Dupee,  and  Mr. 
J.  C.  J.  Brown,  of  Boston,  for  their  obliging  counsel  and  as- 
sistance. To  the  names  of  these  friends  and  helpers  I  must 
be  permitted  gratefully  to  add  the  name  of  my  brother, 
Professor  Henry  M.  Baird. 

The  views  of  La  Rochelle,  that  illustrate  these  volumes, 
have  been  copied,  with  the  kind  consent  of  Mr.  Matthew 
Clarkson,  of  New  York,  from  engravings  in  his  possession, 
made  early  in  the  last  century,  and  doubtless  representing 
the  city  very  much  as  it  was  at  the  time  of  the  dispersion. 
The  quaint  view  of  the  Huguenot  "  temple  "  of  La  Rochelle, 
is  a  fac-simile  of  a  picture  contained  in  the  rare  work 
attributed  to  Abraham  Tessereau,  a  copy  of  which  exists  in 
the  British  Museum.  The  petition,  bearing  the  signatures 
of  the  Walloons  and  French,  among  whom,  it  is  believed, 
were  several  of  the  first  colonists  of  New  Netherland,  and 
founders  of  the  city  of  New  York,  is  a  fac-simile  of  the 
original,  preserved  in  the  British  State  Paper  Office.  Per- 
mission to  reproduce  this  important  document  was  readily 
given  by  the  Master  of  the  Rolls,  upon  the  application  made 
in  my  behalf  by  Mr.  A.  G.  Browning. 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  George  F.  Daniels,  the  author 
of  a  very  valuable  account  of  "  The  Huguenots  in  the 
Nipmuck  Country,"  for  a  view  of  Oxford,  Massachusetts, 
the  site  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  French  settle- 
ments in  America, 

I  offer  no  apology  for  the  multiplicity  of  proper  names, 
and  of  personal  details,  that  will  be  found  in  several  of  these 
chapters.  The  value  of  such  a  work  as  the  present  one 
must  obviously  depend  in  no  small  degree  upon  the  fullness 
and  the  accuracy  of  information  of  this  nature.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  may  be  necessary  that  I  should  explain,  that 
these  particulars  relate  chiefly  to  the  emigrants  themselves, 
except  in  the  case  of  those  who  came  to  New  England.     Of 


Mi 


PREFACE.  i^ 

srTa'j' '"' ""'  '-^'  °'  '"^  —Tints: 

A  general  appreciation  of  the  Huguenot  character,  and  of 
the  Huguenot  element  in  the  population  of  this  country 

Rye,  New  York, 

November  i,  1884. 


.1; 


If 


\l' 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  FIRST. 


INTRODUCTION. 


i 
& 


Attempted  Settlements  in  Brazil  and  Florida 

Cohgny's  Plans  of  Colonization 

A  Refuge  from  Persecution 

Spread  of  Calvinism  in  France 

The  Inquisition  proposed 

Reformed  Church  of  France 

Coligny's  Apprehensions 

The  Moment  favorable 

Durand  de  Villegagnon 

Projected  Colony  in  Brazil 

Recruits  for  the  Expedition 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

The  Bay  of  Nitherohy 

Difficulties  encountered 

The  Island  Coligny 

The  Settlement 

Embassy  to  Geneva 

First  Mission  to  the  Heathen 

The  Sieur  du  Pont 

Visit  to  Coligny 

Voyage  to  Antarctic  France 

Affray  in  Honfleur  . 

Villegagnon's  Professions 

First  Religious  Service 

Villegagnon's  singular  Demeanor 

(jrlowmg  Anticipations 

A  sleepless  Night 

Villegagnon  a  second  St.  Paul 

Holy  Communion  administered 

Letters  to  Calvin 

Plans  of  Missionary  Work 

Villegagnon  writes  to  Calvin 

Gathering  Clouds 


PACE 
21 
21 
22 

23 
24 

25 

25 
26 

27 

27 

28 

29 

29 

30 

31 

31 

32 

Z3 
34 
35 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
39 
40 

41 
41 
4a 
43 
43 


!K 


XU 


CONTENTS. 


i 


Chartier's  Mission    . 
Change  in  Villegagnon  . 
His  Eccentricities    . 
Rupture  with  the  Genevese 
Du  Pont  leaves  the  Island  . 
Psalm-singing  in  the  Forest 
A  Brazilian  Village 
Preaching  to  the  Savages 
Attentive  Hearers    . 
An  Indian  Tradition 
Transient  Impressions 
The  War-Song    . 
The  homeward  Voyage 
Villegagnon's  Treachery 
Sufferers  for  the  Faith 
Jean  Boles 

The  Colony  broken  up 
Coligny  undiscouraged 
Attempted  Settlements  :  Florida 
A  favorable  Juncture 
Edict  of  July,  1561 
Edict  of  January,  1562 
The  "  New  Religion"  recognized 
Civil  War  impending 
The  Expedition 
The  River  of  May 
Port  Royal    . 

Outbreak  of  the  first  Civil  War 
Fate  of  Charlesfort 
Second  Expedition 
La  Caroline 

Former  Mistakes  repeated 
The  Leader's  Weakness 
Psalm-:  inging  in  Florida 
Sir  John  Hawkins    . 
Third  Expedition 
A  common  Danger  . 
The  Spaniards    . 
Council  of  War 
Pedro  Menendez  de  Abila 
Ribaut  surrenders    . 
No  Terms  with  Heretics 
Butchery  at  St  Augustine    . 
The  Crime  avenged 
Dominique  de  Gourgues 


44 

45 

45 
46 

47 
47 
48 

49 
49 
50 
51 
51 
52 
53 
53 
51 
55 
56 
57 
57 
58 
59 
59 

59 
60 

61 

61 

62 

63 
63 
65 
67 
67 
68 
69 
70 

71 

71 
72 

73 

74 

75 

75 
76 

77 


CONTENTS. 

•  •• 

Xlll 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Under  the  Edict  :    Acadia  and  Canada  .            .     79 

Sully's  Statesmanship     . 

79 

Henry  IV.  favors  Colonization 

.    80 

The  Reformation  in  Western  France 

81 

Spread  of  the  new  Doctrines 

.    81 

The  Mass  unsaid 

82 

The  Huguenots  insecure 

.    83 

Need  of  a  Refuge  foreseen 

83 

Pierre  Chauvin,  Seigneur  de  Tontuit 

.    84 

New  France  still  unoccupied     . 

85 

La  Cadie       .... 

.    86 

De  Monts'  Commission 

87 

The  Rights  of  Conscience  secured 

87 

Pierre  du  Gua,  sieur  de  Monts 

88 

Minister  and  Priest 

89 

The  Coast  of  Acadia  explored 

90 

Aubry's  Adventure 

•    91 

Port  Royal  discovered    . 

92 

Annapolis  Harbor    . 

93 

St.  Croix  Island 

1 

93 

Lay  Preaching  at  Port  Royal 

94 

A  Missionary  Expedition 

95 

Converts  to  Christianity 

95 

"  The  Christian  Faith  and  Religion" 

97 

Objections  to  De  Monts'  Commission 

97 

No  Guarantee  against  Heresy    . 

98 

Religious  Differences 

99 

Privileges  of  Trade  withdrawn 

100 

Port  Royal  abandoned 

100 

Settlement  at  Quebec     . 

lOI 

Religious  Liberty  unrestricted 

102 

De  Monts'  Commission  surrendered 

103 

The  Jesuit  Missions 

103 

The  Bargain  closed 

104 

The  Jesuits  in  Acadia 

105 

Mount  Desert     . 

105 

Under  the  Edict  :    Canada 

106 

The  Compagnie  Montmorency 

106 

Guillaume  de  Caen 

107 

The  Jesuits  enter  Canada 

107 

Company  of  New  France     . 

108 

Huguenot  Settlers  excluded 

109 

Triumph  of  the  Jesuits 

.  109 

Toleration  deplored 

no 

;:ii 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


!  ill! 


)  i 


No  Compromise  with  Heresy 
England  enters  the  Lists 
Expedition  to  conquer  New  France 
Huguenots  join  it 
Quebec  taken 
Canada  reverts  to  France 
The  Doom  pronounced 
The  I^oss  to  Canada 
Protestants  detected  in  the  Colony 
A  stubborn  Heretic 
Pulverized  Relics     . 
Relations  with  La  Rochelle 
Rochellese  Merchants 
Dangerous  Proximity  of  Boston 
Deserters  to  New  York 
Protestant  Soldiers  in  Canada 
False  Brethren 
The  Sieur  du  Buisson 
Echoes  of  the  Revocation    . 
Bernon  in  Canada 
Under  the  Edict  :    Acadia 
Changing  Owners 
Dealings  with  the  Puritans 
The  "  Wonderful  Plague" 
Emigration  from  La  Rochelle 
Huguenot  Families 
Charles  de  la  Tour 
Inflexible  Loyalty 
Rival  Chieftains 
Madame  de  la  Tour 
Acadia  reverts  to  France 
John  Paul  Mascarene 
Heresy  in  Acadia     . 
Bergier,  of  La  Rochelle 
Huguenots  in  Newfoundland 
The  Sieur  Pasteur's  Daughter 


PACK 
11 
113 
13 
13 
14 

15 
[16 

17 
18 

19 

120 
[21 
[21 

[22 

123 

[24 

'25 
[26 
[27 
128 
[28 
[29 
[30 

132 

f3^ 

'35 
■  36 
137 

'39 

140 

'43 
'44 
'45 
[46 


CHAPTER  n. 

New  Netherland 
The  Walloons 
The  Refuge  in  Holland 
The  Bayards 
Leyden 
Walloons  and  French  in  Leyden 


148 
149 

151 

152 
153 


CONTENTS. 


XV 


The  Brownists 

Projects  of  Emigration  .     . 

Negotiations  .  .  . 

The  Puritans  leave  Leyden 

The  Walloons  prepare  to  follow 

Jesse  de  Forest    . 

Petition  of  the  Walloons  and  French 

Privileges  desired 

Manorial  Rights 

Promises  of  Fealty 

The  Virginia  Company's  Answer     . 

Inadmissible  Requests   . 

The  Correspondence  ceases 

The  Dutch  West  India  Company 

Providential  Aspects 

The  "  New  Netherland  "  sails   . 

The  Bay  of  New  York 

Landing  on  Manhattan  Island   . 

The  Colonists  disperse 

A  cheerful  Report 

George  de  Rapalie    . 

First  Settlers  of  New  York 

Jean  Mousnier  de  la  Montagne 

Death  of  Jesse  de  Forest 

Peter  Minuit,  the  Walloon 

The  Church  of  New  Amsterdam 

Religious  Services  in  French 

Bay  of  the  Walloons 

Judith  Bayard 

Arrivals  from  France 

Growth  of  Persecution  in  France    . 

Condition  of  the  1  rench  Protestants 

Emigration  from  the  Northern  Provinces 

Waldenses  of  Piedmont 

They  take  Refuge  in  Holland 

Wreck  of  the  "  Prince  Maurice" 

Waldenses  on  Staten  Island 

Louis,  the  Walloon 

The  Palatinate 

The  New  Palatinate 

Esopus  .... 

Indian  Depredations 

The  Esopus  War 

Dominie  Hermanns  Blom    . 

Site  of  the  Settlement     . 


FAGB 

'54 

'55 

'56 

157 

'58 

'59 

'59 
[6i 

r6i 

162 

'63 
[64 

'65 
[66 
.67 
r69 
[70 
171 

'71 

[72 
[72 

'73 
'74 
'75 

175 
f76 

[77 

'77 
'78 

'79 
[80 

tSi 

[81 

'83 
184 

185 
[86 

'87 
[88 

189 
190 
191 
[91 
192 

'93 


m 

m 

I  m 


w 


li 

he 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAO> 

The  "  New  Village"       .  .  .  .194 

Attack  upon  the  Settlements  .  .  .  195 

Brave  Defense  of  Wiltwyck        .  .  ,         196 

Consternation  at  New  Amsterdam  .  .  196 

The  Esopus  Indians  pursued     .  .  .        197 

The  Rescue  .....  198 

Security  of  the  Settlement  .  .  .         199 

New  Netherland  becomes  an  English  Possession    .  200 
David  Provost,  and  Johannes  de  Peyster  .        200 


CHAPTER  III. 

The  Antilles    ..... 

.  201 

Caribbean  Islands 

202 

Occupation  of  St.  Christopher 

.  202 

Mount  Misery     .... 

203 

Basse-Terre               .... 

.  204 

Early  Toleration 

205 

Heretics  always  suffered 

.  205 

Huguenot  Seamen 

206 

Churches  in  St.  Christopher 

.  206 

Protestant  Merchants     . 

208 

The  Protestant  Quarter  of  Guadeloupe 

.  210 

American  Huguenot  Names 

211 

The  Storm  approaches 

.  211 

Proscriptive  Edicts         .            .            .            . 

212 

Protestant  Officials  in  the  Islands   . 

,  213 

Elie  Neau  in  the  West  Indies    . 

214 

Occasional  Severities 

•  215 

Methods  of  Intimidation 

217 

The  "Engages'*       .... 

.  218 

Transportation  to  the  Islands  dreaded 

219 

Banishment  and  Slavery 

.  220 

Numbers  actually  shipped 

221 

Sympathy  awakened  in  Europe 

.  222 

A  Transport  Ship  at  Cadiz 

223 

Horrors  of  the  Passage 

.  224 

Large  Mortality 

225 

Martinique   .             .            .             .            . 

.  226 

"  Les  Mornes"    .            .            .            .            . 

227 

Quartering  of  Soldiers 

.  227 

Instances  of  Humane  Treatment 

228 

Flight  from  the  Islands 

.  229 

Methods  of  Escape         .            .            , 

230 

Arrivals  in  New  York 

.  231 

^ggagwt^s*^ 


CONTENTS. 


xvii 


Tardy  Change  of  Policy 
Protestants  remaining  in  the  Islands 
Bermuda  .... 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Approach  of  The  Revocation 
Fall  of  La  Rochelle 
Political  Importance  of  the  Huguenots 
They  cease  to  form  a  Party 
Their  Devotion  to  Trade  and  Manufactures 
Their  unimpeached  Loyalty 
Testimonies  of  Louis  XIII.  and  Louis  XIV. 
Their  Relentless  Enemy 
The  Edict  irrevocable 
Preparing  to  revoke  it   . 
The  family  attacked  :  Disorder  introduced  into  the 

Home    ...... 

The  Schools  attacked  :   Academies  suppressed 
The    Church    attacked  :    Closing    of    Protestant 

"Temples"        .  .  .  .  . 

Personal  Rights  invaded 
Exclusion  from  Trades  and  Professions 
The  Dragonnades 
As  in  an  Enemy's  Country  . 
Forced  Conversions 
The  Exodus 

Expedients  of  the  Fugitives 
Flight  by  Sea  and  Land 
The  Collapse       .  . 

Doors  of  Escape       .  .  . 

England's  Welcome        . 
The  Royal  Bounty  , 
Other  Overtures 
The  Protestant  Princes 
Persecution  continues    . 
The  Edict  of  Revocation    . 
Its  Provisions 
Judgment  of  the  Age,  and  of  Posterity 


PAGE 
235 


238 
238 
239 

239 

240 

841 
348 
242 
242 

243 
245 

247 

847 
247 
849 
849 
250 

251 

251 
858 

aS3 

254 

255 

25s 

25s 
856 

256 

257 
253 
259 


The  Revocation 

AUNIS 

Calvin's  first  Disciples 


CHAPTER  V. 

Flight  from  La  Rochelle  and 


262 
262 


XVlll 


CONTENTS. 


i 

1 

Mi 

The  seaboard  Provinces 

Home  of  American  Huguenots 

La  Rochelle 

"  La  Terre  d'  Aunis" 

A  glorious  History 

The  Protestant  Capital 

Second  Siege  of  La  Rochelle 

Its  political  Importance  ceases 

Three  hundred  Families  ejected  from  the  City 

Einigrants  to  America 

Jean  Touton 

Correspondence  with  Governor  Stuyvesant 

Homes  of  the  Rochellese 

Streets  of  La  Rochelle 

St.  Nicolas,  and  La  Lanterne 

Historic  Associations 

"  Le  Bastion  de  V  Evangile" 

The  Pr6  de  Maubec 

The  Huguenot  "  Preche" 

Rochellese  Families  :  Bernon  and  Jay 

Gabriel  Manigault 

Baudouin,  Sieur  de  la  Laigne 

Allaire  and  Faneuil 

The  Sigourneys 

The  Protestant  "  Noblesse"  of  Aunis 

The  Sieur  de  Rivedoux 

Bruneau  de  la  Chabossiere 

The  Seigneurs  de  Cramahe  . 

Daniel  Robert     . 

Rochellese  Emigrants  to  Boston 

Emigrants  to  the  City  of  New  York 

The  Ancestor  of  John  Morin  Scott 

Emigrants  to  New  Rochelle, 

Settlers  in  Ulster  County     . 

Settlers  on  Staten  Island 

Antoine  Pintard 

Settlers  in  South  Carolina 

Marans  in  Aunis      ,  .  , 

The  Seigneur  de  Cressy 

Elie  Boudinot's  Will 

Benon  and  Mauz6,  in  Aunis 

The  Gallaudets 

The  Isle  of  Re    . 

Descendants  of  the  "  New  Converts" 

Emigrants  from  the  Isle  of  Re  . 


PAGS 

263 
.  263 

264 
.  364 

365 
.  a66 

267 
.  268 

269 
.  270 

271 
.  273 

273 

.  273 
274 

.  275 
275 

.  276 
276 

.  277 

279 
.  280 

281 
.  282 

283 
.  283 

284 
.  285 

386 
.  287 

288 
.  290 

291 

.  293 
294 

•  295 
296 

.  297 

598 

•  299 

300 

.  301 

302 

.  303 
303 


.A_ 


CONTENTS. 


XIX 


Emigrants  from  the  Isle  of  R^  to  New  England 
To  New  York     ..... 

Pierre  Bontecou        .... 

Emigrants  to  South  Carolina 

Isaac  Mazyck  .... 

The  Intendant  Demuyn 

The  "  Temple  "  of  La  Rochelle  demolished 

Bernon's  Letter  to  a  Friend  in  Boston  . 

Fusileers  from  Beam 

Pillage  in  La  Rochelle    .... 

"  Bowing  the  Knee  to  Baal" 

Pierre  Jay  ..... 

Escape  of  Jay's  Family        .  .  , 

A  Prisoner  in  La  Lanterne 

Andr^  Bernon  .... 

Brutality  of  the  Intendant  Arnou 

Samuel  and  Jean  Bernon     . 

Fervent  Proselytes         .... 

Gabriel  Bernon         .... 

His  Escape  to  Holland  .... 

Relatives  in  the  Convents  and  Galleys 
Appendix      ...... 

Letter  of  the  Ministers  Richer  and  Chartier  to 

Calvin    ..... 
Translation  .... 

Letter  of  the  Minister  Richer  to  an  unknown  Cor 

respondent        .... 
Translation '        . 
Letter  of  Villegagnon  to  Calvin 
Translation  ..... 

Commission  of  Henry  IV.  to  De  Monts 
Translation.    "  The  Patent  of  the  French  Kinge  to 

Mounsieur  De  Monts" 
Petition  of  the  Walloons  and  French 
Answer  of  the  Virginia  Company 
The  Walloon  and  French  Petitioners 
Notes  from  the  Walloon  Records  of  Leyden     . 


304 
305 
307 
308 

3'^ 
312 

3'3 
314 
315 

315 
316 

317 

317 

318 

3'9 
320 

321 

322 

323 
324 
325 
327 

329 
330 

332 
333 
335 
338 
341 

344 
348 
350 
351 
353 


■mpmn 


INTRODUCTION. 


ATTEMPTED     SETTLEMENTS 


IN 


BRAZIL  AND  FLORIDA. 


The  project  of  establishing  colonies  of  French  introd. 
Protestants  in  America,  was  entertained  and  ad-  1555. 
vocated,  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  by  the  illustrious  Gaspard  de  Coligny. 
A  patriotic  and  a  religious  zeal  alike  prompted 
him  to  favor  the  measure.  Intent  on  fur- 
thering the  prosperity  of  France  through  the 
development  of  her  industrial  resources,  the 
ofreat  Admiral,  a  hundred  years  before  Colbert,  Coiigrny's 

»  ^        _  ^  plans  of 

pleaded  for  colonization.  Whenever  released  Coioniia- 
from  the  more  pressing  cares  of  political  and 
military  life,  his  mind  was  occupied  with  plans 
of  this  nature,  hoping,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  so  to 
manage  that  in  a  little  while  we  may  have  the 
tinest  trade  in  all  Christendom."  Coligny's 
views  of  the  foreign  policy  of  France  also  led 
him  to  favor  a  colonial  system.  Spain,  foremost 
in  the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  New 
World,  was  now  nearly  without  a  rival  upon  its 
continents  and  waters.  The  vast  empires  of 
Mexico  and  Peru  had  fallen  an  easy  prey  to  her 
captains ;  and  the  riches  which  the  conquest 
poured  into  the  royal  treasury,  enabled  Charles 


W 


^'S 


I  : 


illi 


2  2      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:    BRAZIL. 


Introd. 


1555- 


the  Fifth  to  carry  on  the  wars  which  disturbed 
the  peace  of  Europe,  and  which  especially  humili- 
ated France.  Colignyhad  already  distinguished 
himself  in  arms  against  the  Spaniard.  Devoted  ^ 
to  his  country's  interests,  he  could  not  but  ap- 
prove a  plan  for  weakening  her  inveterate  foe  by 
planting  settlements  and  trading  posts  along  the 
American  shore,  and  contesting  the  commerce  and 
the  sovereignty  of  the  New  World  with  Spain. 

But  there  was  another  consideration,  perhaps 
more  potent,  appealing  to  Coligny's  religious 
sympathies.  Though  not  yet  an  avowed  adher- 
ent of  the  Reformed  faith,  he  was  in  accord  with 
AEefiige  ^^^^  Protestant  movement,  and  was  preparing  to 
^eo^ti^^  be  the  fearless  champion  of  religious  freedom 
and  of  the  rights  of  conscience  that  he  proved 
himself  ever  after.  At  this  moment,  the  outlook 
for  Protestantism  in  France  was  an  anxious  one. 
The  doctrines  of  the  Reformation,  proclaimed  in 
Germany  by  Luther,  had  soon  spread  into  the 
neighboring  territory  of  France,  and  made  con- 
verts among  the  learned  and  the  title'i,  as  well 
as  among  the  common  people.  For  a  time  it 
seemed  probable  that  the  evangelical  faith  might 
enjoy  toleration,  if  not  patronage  and  acceptance, 
from  the  great.  The  king,  Francis  the  First, 
himself  professed  a  desire  to  see  the  abuses  of 
the  Church  corrected.  His  sister,  Margaret  of 
Angouleme,  afterwards  Queen  of  Navarre, 
early  came  into  sympathy  with  the  teachings  of 
the  reformers,  and  showed  herself  their  zealous 
and  steadfast  friei.J.  Motives  of  state  policy 
prompted  Francis  to  seek  alliance  with  the  Prot- 


1521. 


SPREAD  OF  CALVINISM  IN  FRANCE.        23 


1545. 


estant  princes  of  Germany,  and  to  conciliate  the  introd. 
Lutherans  among  his  own  subjects.  But  it  was  ,332, 
not  long  before,  influenced  by  other  considera- 
tions, he  forsook  the  course  of  moderation  upon 
which  he  had  entered,  and  acknowledged  himself 
the  implacable  foe  of  the  Reformation.  His  hos- 
tility was  reflected  and  intensified  in  the  legisla- 
tion of  the  period.  Parliamentary  enactments 
pronounced  the  profession  of  the  new  doctrines 
a  crime,  to  be  punished  with  death  ;  and  execu- 
tions for  heresy  became  frequent  throughout  the 
kingdom.  The  last  years  of  Francis  I.  were 
stained  by  the  massacre  of  the  Protestant  inhab- 
itants of  twenty-two  towns  and  villages  in  south- 
eastern France,  and  by  the  burning  at  the  stake 
of  fourteen  members  of  the  newly  organized 
church  of  Meaux.  Under  the  reign  of  his  son, 
Henry  H.,  the  laws  that  aimed  at  the  extirpation 
of  heresy  became  increasingly  severe.  The  edict 
of  Chateaubriand  enjoined  upon  the  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  courts  of  the  kingdom  to  combine 
for  the  detection  and  punishment  of  heretics. 
Persons  convicted  of  heresy  were  denied  the 
right  of  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  these 
courts.  Suspected  persons  were  excluded  from 
every  public  preferment,  and  from  all  academic 
honors.  Heavy  penalties  were  imposed  upon 
any  who  should  harbor  them,  connive  at  their 
escape,  or  present  petitions  in  their  behalf.  In- 
formers were  awarded  one-third  part  of  the  goods 
of  persons  informed  against.  The  property  of 
those  who  fled  from  the  kingdom  was  to  be 
confiscated.     The  same  edict  forbade  the  intro- 


June  27, 
1651. 


0 


3  in 


'.  M 


1:^ 


^I'l 


0 


r  ' 

i 
i 

1  ^i  1    f 

[  ?  > 

J 

! 

■I    ' 

1 

f         r 

f) 

vt 

^  II 

9 

1 

p 

1 

ii 

s 

>? 

i 

i 

1 

1'  ^■- 


^ 


24      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:   BRAZIL. 

introd.    duction    of   heretical    books    from    abroad,    and 
155 1,     established  a  rigid   censorship  of   the  press  at 
home,  to  prevent  the  publication  of  such  works 
within  the  realm. 

Yet  in  spite  of  these  harsh  repressive  meas- 
ures, the  Protestant  faith  continued  to  spread  in 
France.     Its   enerr'es,   finding  that  the  torture 
and  the  fagot,  as  applied  under  the  sanction  of 
civil  law,    availed  nothing  to  deter  multitudes 
from  embracing  the  new  religion,  now  urged  the 
The  In-    introduction  of   the    'Spanish  Inquisition,  which 
Proposed,  had  proved  so  effectual  in  destroying  heresy  on 
the  other  side  of  the    Pyrenees.     It  was,  how- 
ever, at  the  very  time  when  this  proposal  was 
under  consideration  in  the  Parliament  of  Paris, 
that  the  first  Protestant  church  in  France  was 
September  crgfanized  in  a  private  house  of  that  city ;  and  it 

1665.  ^  fi-i  If  1-f 

was  soon  alter  this  that  the  foundations  of  an 
ecclesiastical  system  destined  to  unite  and  con- 
solidate the  scattered  congregations  of  believers 
throughout  the  kingdom,  were  laid  by  a  handful 
of  obscure  and  persecuted  men. 

The  first  National  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  of  France  met  in  Paris,  in  May,  1559. 
The  form  of  ecclesiastical  discipline  adopted  was  ' 
that  already  existing  in  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Geneva ;  and  it  was  substantially  the  same 
with  that  which  was  established  in  the  following 
year  by  the  first  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  The  parity  of  the  Holy 
Ministry  was  recognized.  In  each  congregation 
the  minister  or  ministers,  together  with  the 
"  anciens,"  (elders,)  chosen  by  the  people,  formed 


May  26, 
1669. 


M 


REFORMED  CHURCH  OF  FRANCE. 


25 


the  "Consistoire"  or  Church  Session,  having 
the  oversight  of  the  flock.  From  the  decisions 
of  this  court,  appeal  could  be  made  to  the  "  Col- 
loque,"  or  Provincial  Synod,  which  met  twice 
every  year,  and  which  was  composed  of  all  the 
pastors  of  the  churches  within  a  certain  territory, 
together  with  elders  representing  the  congrega- 
tions. The  National  Synod  was  the  supreme 
ecclesiastical  court. 

Coligny  knew  the  temper  of  the  religious 
party  to  which  he  was  already  bound  in  sympa- 
thy, and  of  which  he  was  soon  to  become  the 
military  leader.  Sagacious  and  far-sighted,  this 
eminent  man — "  one  of  the  largest,  firmest,  aiid 
most  active  spirits  that  have  ever  illustrated 
France" — dreaded  the  effect  of  persecution  upon 
a  body  of  men,  steadily  growing  in  numbers, 
swayed  by  the  most  powerful  convictions,  con- 
scious of  their  strength,  yet  denied  the  liberty 
either  to  enjoy  their  rights  of  conscience  at  home 
or  to  seek  room  for  the  enjoyment  of  them  in 
foreign  lands.  The  plan  of  founding  a  French 
colony  in  America,  where  the  adherents  of  the 
Reformed  religion  might  freely  profess  and  exer- 
cise their  faith,'  w^hile  at  the  same  time  enlarg- 
ing the  possessions  and  increasing  the  resources 
of  the  kingdom,''  commended  itself  strongly  to 


Intxod. 
1559- 


1655. 
Coligny's 

Appre- 
heosions. 


s{ 

i 

ti  --A 
I   I' 

li  w 

ll-i 

t  t 


1 


y 

in 


'  "  Le  but  ^toit  bien  moins  d'  acqu^rir  h  la  France  une 
partie  du  Br^sil,  que  d'y  assurer  une  ressource  au  Cal- 
vinisme,  proscrit  et  persecute  par  le  Souverain." — Histoire 
de  la  Nouvelle  France,  par  le  P.  de  Charlevoix.  Vol.  I., 
P-^3S- 

'  *'  La  colonisation  par  les  protestants  des  regions  qu'  on 


iii 


Introd. 
1555- 


Hayl, 
1600. 


lii 


1'^' 


26     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 

his  judgment :  and  upon  his  representations,  the 
king,  Henry  II.,  consented  to  the  scheme.' 

The  moment  seemed  favorable.  A  series  of 
miHtary  reverses  had  incHned  Charles  the  Fifth 
to  terms  of  peace  with  France  and  with  her 
allies,  the  Protestant  States  of  Germany.  Spain 
was  resting  from  a  long  and  an  exhaustive  war. 
Among  the  countries  beyond  the  seas  which  had 
been  discovered  by  Spanish  adventurers,  Brazil 
remained  almost  unnoticed.  A  companion  of 
Christopher  Columbus  had  taken  possession  of 
it,  fifty  years  before,  in  the  name  of  the  King  of 
Castile  :  but  the  claim  had  not  been  pressed. 
By  the  line  of  demarkation  which  the  Roman 
See  had  drawn,  dividing  all  lands  as  yet  undis- 
covered between  the  crowns  of  Spain  and 
Portugal,  Brazil  was  found  to  belong  to  the  lat- 


nommait  alors  les  Indes  6tait  un  des  reves  favoris  de 
Tamiral." — De  Grammont  :  Relation  de  1'  expedition  de 
Charles-Quint  contre  Alger  par  Villegaignon.     P.  8. 

*  "  On  disoit  ouvertement  que  c'^toit-la  le  moyen  6'6- 
tendre  la  gloire  du  nom  Francois,  &  d'  affoiblir  les  forces 
des  ennemis,  qui  tiroient  decescontrdesde  puissans  secours, 
pour  faire  la  guerre  :  Que  1'  exemple  des  Francois  serviroit 
beaucoup  a  ouvrir  aux  nations  ^trang&res  le  chemin  decette 
partie  du  monde  :  de  sorte  qu'  en  rendant  la  liberte  aux 
Amdricains,  on  y  ^tabliroit  un  commerce  public  et  commun 
k  toutes  les  nations,  dont  les  seuls  Espagnols,  par  le  joug 
insupportable  qu'  ils  avoient  impost  k  ces  peuples,  tiroient 
tout  le  profit.  Voila  ce  qu'  on  publioit  par  tout.  Mais 
Villegagnon  avoit  trait6  secretement  avec  Coligny,  etcomme 
il  sgavoit  que  1'  Amiral  favorisoit  sourdement  les  sectateurs 
de  la  Religion  des  Suisses  et  de  Geneve,  dont  il  y  avoit  d^ja 
un  grand  nombre  en  France,  il  lui  avoit  fait  esperer  qu'  il 
^tabliroit  cette  Religion  dans  les  pais  dont  il  se  rendroit  le 
maitre."— Histoire  Universelle  de  Jaques  Augustede  Thou. 
Tome  IL,  p.  381. 


mumrn 


DURAND  DE  VILLEGAGNON. 


27 


ter  power.  The  Portuguese  indeed,  at  an  early  introd. 
day,  formed  a  few  settlements  along  the  coast.  1555. 
But  it  was  not  until  the  discovery  of  gold  in  that 
country,  that  Portugal  herself  showed  any  great 
interest  in  this  occupation.  Meanwhile,  the 
French,  who  had  never  admitted  the  right  of  the 
Pope  to  apportion  a  hemisphere  between  their 
rivals  the  Spaniards  and  Portuguese,  were  ex- 
ploring the  coast  of  Brazil,  and  trading  with  its 
inhabitants,  upon  their  own  account. 

It  was  now  that  a  French  soldier  of  fortune,  Projected 
Durand  de  Villegagnon,  proposed  to  Coligny  Braaii. 
the  establishment  of  a  Protestant  colony  in 
Brazil.  Villegagnon  was  well  known  as  a  brave 
soldier,  and  an  accomplished  naval  commander, 
and  was  particularly  recommended  for  such  an 
expedition  by  his  acquaintance  with  the  Bra- 
zilian coast.  He  also  represented  himself  to  the 
Protestants  as  in  sympathy  with  their  views  ;  and 
if  he  did  not  himself  originate  the  plan  of  emi- 
gration to  the  New  World,  willingly  lent  himself 
to  Coligny's  scheme  in  behalf  of  his  persecuted 
brethren.' 

'  Jurieu,  Apologia  pour  la  Reformation,  I.  552,  maintains 
that  Coligny  fixed  upon  Villegagnon  to  carry  out  his  own 
design,  and  prepare  a  retreat  in  America  for  the  persecuted 
Protestants.  Bayle,  Hist.  &  Crit.  Dictionary  (v.  Villegagnon) 
quotes  Beza  in  opposition  to  this  statement.  Count  Dela- 
borde  (Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Amiral  de  France,  I.  145,  146,) 
adopts  the  former  view.  "  Coligny  avait  con^u  le  projet  d'y 
for.dcr  [en  Br^sil]  une  colonic,  dans  la  double  pens^e  de 
servir  les  interets  de  la  France  en  lui  assurant,  au  delil  de 
r  Ocdan,  la  possession  d'  une  contr^e  propre  h  favoriser 
son  commerce,  et  d'  ouvrir  un  asile  k  ceux  des  protestants 
fran^ais  qui  pourraient  se  soustraire  aux  persecutions 
dirig^es  contre  eux  sur  le  sol  natal." 


','*  51 

'tf  ' 

m 

iL 

't 

V.' 

'■j« 

'  '  -'1 

•{ 

'     ji  ■  1 

i '  1 

bi'M 

^ 

1       I ' 


-I 

Vi     ! 


u 


u 


28   ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 


Introd. 


Execu- 
tion. 


Ill 


i  III 


It  was   in   July,   1555,  that  two  ships  and  a 
July  12,  transport,  furnished  and  fitted  out  at  the  royal 
'555-     charges,'   set   forth  under  the  auspices  of  Ad- 
miral Coligny,  from  the  port  of  Havre  de  Grace. 
The  company  of   emigrants   was   considerable. 
Villegagnon's  ship  alone   carried  one  hundred 
persons.     Some  of   these  were   Protestants,  of 
various     conditions — noblemen,     soldiers,    and 
mechanics.     But  there  were  others  who  proba- 
bly cared  little  either  for  the  "  new  "  doctrines 
Eecruits  or  for  the  old.    Villeeagnon  had  availed  himself 

for  the  .  .      . 

of  the  king's  permission  to  visit  the  prisons  of 
Paris,  and  select  any  of  the  criminals  whom  he 
might  judge  to  be  suitable  as  recruits.  This 
was  no  uncommon  way  of  securing  colonists  for 
the  settlement  of  lands  beyond  the  seas.  It 
may  be  doubted  whether  the  experiment  ever 
proved  a  successful  one. 

The  band  of  volunteers  was  soon  reduced  in 
number  by  desertions.  Scarcely  had  the  vessels 
gained  the  Channel,  before  a  severe  gale  set  in, 
driving  them  back  to  the  coast  of  Normandy. 
At  Dieppe,  where  they  put  in  for  shelter  and  re- 
pairs, many  of  the  voyagers,  satisfied  with  their 
brief  experience  of  the  perils  and  discomforts  of 
the  ocean,  abandoned  the  enterprise.  Only 
eighty  persevered,  of  whom  thirty  were  artisans 
and  common  workmen. 

A  long  and  stormy  voyage  brought  the  adven- 
turers to  the  wonderful  Bay,  which  its  discoverer, 


'  In  addition  to  this  outfit,  the  king  granted  the  sum  of 
ten  thousand  livres  for  the  first  expenses  of  the  enterprise. 
(De  L^ry.) 


Li. 


RIO  DE  JANEIRO. 


29 


supposing  it  to  be  the  mouth  of  some  great  river, 
had  misnamed  Rio  de  Janeiro.  As  their  ships 
approached  the  narrow  entrance  to  this  land- 
locked sheet  of  water,  the  Frenchmen  looked 
with  admiring  eyes  upon  scenery  unsurpassed 
for  magnificence  and  beauty  by  any  other  in 
either  hemisphere.  On  each  side  of  this  en- 
trance, a  granite  mountain  stood,  as  if  forbidding 
access.  Beyond  these  giant  sentinels,  and 
through  a  deep  vista  of  wooded  hills,  the  vast 
harbor  was  seen,  its  expanse  broken  by  palm-clad 
islands,  and  framed  in  with  dense  forests,  behind 
which  rose  lofty  ranges  of  mountains,  strangely 
contorted  in  abrupt,  fantastic  forms.  Nearing 
the  shore,  the  voyagers  beheld  for  the  first  time 
the  splendors  of  a  tropical  vegetation.  The  at- 
mosphere was  heavy  with  the  odor  of  flowers, 
and  sight  and  hearing  were  together  regaled  by 
the  incessant  song  and  the  brilliant  plumage  of 
countless  varieties  of  birds. 

Villegagnon  landed  with  his  men  upon  the 
shore  near  the  entrance  of  the  bay.  The  arrival 
of  the  party  was  greeted  by  the  savages  in  the 
neighborhood  with  every  demonstration  of  joy. 
These  tribes  were  friendly  to  the  French,  with 
whom  they  had  long  traded  ;  and  they  regarded 
their  visitors  as  allies,  come  to  protect  them 
against  the  Portuguese,  whom  they  hated  for 
their  cruelty  and  rapacity.  But  neither  the 
friendliness  of  the  savages  nor  the  grandeur  and 
loveliness  of  the  scenes  of  nature  around  them, 
could  blind  the  strangers  to  the  fact  that  a  labo- 
rious and  discouraging  work  awaited  them.    The 


Introd. 
J555- 


Bay  of 
Nithe- 
rohy. 


I 


<    ■■  \ 


l!'4i 


Is* 


M 


'<'U 


:\\ 


IM  \, 


-\M 


30     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:   BRAZIL. 


1555- 


Difficul- 
ties en- 
countered 


i  1 


introd.  country  was  utterly  uncultivated.  The  natives, 
though  disposed  to  be  helpful,  were  improvident, 
and  had  no  sufficient  stores  of  food  for  their 
supply.  It  was  necessary  to  begin  without  de- 
lay the  building  of  some  kind  of  fortification, 
not  only  as  a  precaution  against  the  Indians, 
whose  fidelity  could  not  be  greatly  relied  on,  but 
especially  in  view  of  the  proximity  of  the  Portu- 
guese, who,  though  they  had  not  been  able  to 
retain  possession  of  the  land,  were  enraged  by 
the  intrusion  of  the  French,  and  might  at  any 
moment  make  a  descent  upon  them  from  their 
settlement  at  San  Salvador,  in  the  north.  But 
the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  building  were  many. 
There  were  no  beasts  of  burden,  and  timber 
must  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men,  up 
the  steep  hillsides  of  the  wild  broken  country. 
Villegagnon  himself  was  at  a  loss  to  decide  upon 
the  best  course  to  be  pursued  :  and  his  compan- 
ions, the  better  portion  of  them  especially,  were 
completely  discouraged,  and  only  waited  till 
the  ships  which  had  brought  them  over 
should  be  ready  for  the  homeward  voyage,  re- 
turning to  France  with  a  cargo  of  Brazil-wood. 
The  leader  was  soon  left  with  a  diminished 
band,  consisting  for  the  most  part  of  the  convicts 
whom  he  had  taken  out  of  the  prisons  in  Paris. 
Fearing  lest  they  too  might  desert  him,  and  go 
over  to  the  savages,  with  whom  they  were  but 
too  well  inclined  to  consort,  he  determined  to 
leave  the  main-land,'  and  establish  himself  upon 

'  So  Villegagnon  himself  intimates  in  his  letter  to  Calvin, 


cmi 


THE  ISLAND  COLIGNY. 


31 


nss- 


ment. 


one  of  the  numerous  islands  in  the  beautiful  introd. 
bay.  The  little  island  of  Lage,  just  within  the 
entrance  of  the  bay,  was  first  chosen.  Here 
Villegagnon  set  his  men  at  work  to  build  a  tem- 
porary fort  or  block-house.  But  it  was  soon 
found  that  the  action  of  the  water  at  flood-tide 
in  the  narrow  channel  threatened  the  security  of 
the  building  ;  and  the  party  removed  to  another 
small  island,  two  miles  further  up  the  widening 
portal  of  the  bay,  and  directly  opposite  the  site 
now  occupied  by  the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
This  island,  known  at  the  present  day  by  Ville-  '^^'^SS^^* 
gagnon's  name,  is  less  than  a  mile  in  circumfer- 
ence, and  lies  at  the  distance  of  only  two  fur- 
longs from  the  shore.  It  was  called  in  honor  of 
the  patron  of  the  colony,  Coligny :  a  fort  was 
erected  on  a  rock  at  the  water's  edge,  and  near 
by,  under  shelter  of  the  guns,  the  rude  cabins  of 
the  settlers  were  hastily  constructed. 

Even  in  this  isolated  spot,  Villegagnon  found 
it  difficult  to  keep  his  vicious  and  refractory  fol- 
lowers under  control.     A  conspiracy  against  his 

(see  appendix  to  this  volume,)  in  which  he  gives  his  reasons 
for  subsequently  removing  to  an  island.  De  L^ry,  who 
arrived  more  than  a  year  later,  and  who  may  not  have 
known  all  the  particulars  of  the  beginnings  of  the  colony, 
says  nothing  about  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  settle  on  the 
main-land. 

There  is  an  allusion  to  it  in  Andr^  Thevet's  notices  of 
the  expedition.  "  Nous  trouvasmes  une  petite  isle  .  .  . 
dans  laqaelle  quelques  deux  mois  suivans  commengames  k 
fortifier,  apr^s  avoir  pense  h.  nos  affaires  et  avoir  /aif 
descente  en  terre  continente,  pour  tirer  I'amitie  de  ces  bar- 
bares."  (Histoire  de  deux  voyages  par  luy  faits  aux  Indes 
australes  et  occidentales,  apud  M^raoires  de  Claude  Haton.- 
appendice,  p.  1099.) 


|!5 


1 

\ 

■.4 


I 


ii 


«  m 


-trl- 


32      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 


1555. 


Embusy 
to  Geneva. 


introd.  life,  in  which  all  but  five  joined,  was  discov- 
ered barely  in  time,  and  the  summary  punish- 
ment of  the  ringleader  struck  terror  into  the 
minds  of  the  rest.  After  this,  the  work  of  forti- 
fication proceeded,  and  the  little  colony  enjoyed 
a  tolerable  degree  of  tranquillity  for  the  remain- 
der of  the  year. 

The  ship  that  returned  to  Europe  with  some 
of  the  discouraged  adventurers,  carried  also  a 
trusty  messenger  from  Villegagnon,  charged 
with  the  duty  of  reporting  to  Coligny  and  to 
the  king  the  establishment  of  the  colony,  and  of 
seeking  re-enforcements,  in  order  to  the  perma- 
nent occupation  of  "  Antarctic  France,"  as  the 
new  continent  was  now  denominated.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  embassy,  the  mes«i»'n;;'"»-  wns  in- 
structed to  proceed  to  Geneva,  and  there  to 
present  to  the  ministers  and  magistrates  of  the 
city  an  ee.rnest  appeal  for  help  to  plant  the  Gos- 
Aurostzo  pel  in  America.  Calvin  himself  was  absent, 
^isjJism'  having  been  called  to  Frankfort  for  the  purpose 
of  endeavoring  to  settle  the  serious  disputes 
among  the  English  exiles  and  the  Protestants  of 
that  city.  But  the  envoy  was  heartily  welcomed 
by  the  other  ministers  of  Geneva,  as  well  as  by 
the  magistrates.  Solemn  religious  services  were 
held  in  the  cathedral  church  of  St.  Pierre  :  the 
Genevese,  who  were  "  naturally  desirous  of  the 
spread  of  their  own  religion,  giving  thanks  to 
God,"  as  the  old  chronicler  Lescarbot  relates, 
"  for  that  they  saw  the  way  open  to  establish 
their  doctrine  yonder,  and  to  cause  the  light 
of    the    Gospel   to    shine    forth   among  those 


FIRST  MISSION  TO  THE  HEATHEN. 


3i 


barbarous  people,  godless,  lawless,  and  without  introd. 
rcllo^lon."  Several  pious  young  students,  one  1556. 
of  whom  was  Jean  de  Lery,  offered  themselves 
for  the  work  of  instructing  the  savages  in  the 
knowledge  of  Christianity  ;  and  two  clergymen 
of  the  Church  of  Geneva,  Pierre  Richer,  called 
de  Lisle,  and  Guillaume  Chartier — the  first 
Protestant  ministers  to  cross  the  Atlantic — 
were  appointed  to  this  mission. 

The  other  members  of  the  little  company 
were  Pierre  Bourdon,  Mathieu  Verneuil,  Jean 
du  Bordel,  Andrd  Lafon,  Nicolas  Denis,  Jean 
Gardien,  Martin  David,  Nicolas  Roviquet, 
Nicolas  Carmeau,  and  Jacques  Rousseau. 
Three  of  these  were  destined  to  martyr- 
dom for  their  faith. 

A  number  of  mechanics  and  laborers  also  Thesieur 
joined  the  party.  At  its  head  was  the  aged 
Philippe  de  Corguilleray,  sieur  du  Pont,  an  old 
neighbor  and  friend  of  Coligny,  who  had  left 
his  estates  at  Chatillon  sur  Loing,  some  years 
before,  that  he  might  live  amid  the  religious 
privileges  to  be  enjoyed  in  Geneva.  It  was  at 
the  admiral's  own  request,  seconded  by  that  of 
Calvin,  that  this  venerable  man'  consented  to 
take  the  leadership  of  the  enterprise.' 

'  Ja  vieil  et  caduc. — De  L^ry, 

*  The  particulars  of  the  expedition  to  Brazil  are  given  by 
De  L^ry,  who  accompanied  it,  and  by  Lescarbot,  who  seems 
to  have  derived  his  information  from  others  who  were  en- 
gaged in  it.  De  Lory's  account  is  to  be  found  in  his  "  His- 
toire  d'un  Voyage  fait  en  la  Terre  du  Bresil,  autrement 
dite  Amerique.  Contenant  la  Navigation,  &  choses  remar- 
quables,  veiies  sur  mer  par  1'  aucteur.    Le  comportement 


'■Mil 


1 


If". 

lifiji 


im 


Visit 
toColigny 


34     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:   BRAZIL. 

Inteod.  The  band  of  volunteers  thus  organized  left 
iSS'^-  Geneva  in  excellent  spirits.'  Crossing  the 
September  Jura  mountains,  they  made  their  way  through 
the  provinces  of  Franche  Comte  and  Burgundy, 
to  the  home  of  Coligny,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Loing.  Here  the  admiral  graciously  entertained 
them,  in  his  ancient  castle  of  Chatillon,  "one  of 
the  very  finest  in  France,"  and  encouraged  them 
in  their  undertaking,  setting  before  them  many 
reasons  that  led  him  to  hope  that  God  would 
permit  them  to  see  the  fruit  of  their  labors,  and 
promising  them  the  help  of  the  naval  force  at 
his  command.  From  Chatillon  they  proceeded  to 
Paris,  where  they  spent  a  month,  and  where,  to 
their  delight.  Richer  and  Chartier  found  that  "  a 
church  had  been  gathered  in  the  best  manner, 
according  to  the  word  of  God."  Scarcely  a 
year  had  passed  since   the  organization  of  this 

de  Villegagnon  en  ce  pais  1^.  Les  meurs  &  fa^ons  de  vivre 
estranges  dc"  Sauvages  Ameriquains  :  avec  un  coUoque  de 
leur  langage.  Ensemble  la  description  de  pliisieurs  Ani- 
maux,  Arbres,  Herbes,  &  autres  choses  singulieres,  &  du 
tout  inconues  parde^a  :  dont  on  vena  les  sommaires  des 
chapitres  au  commencement  du  livre.  Non  encores  mis  en 
lumiere,  pour  les  causes  contenues  en  la  preface.  Le  tout 
receuilli  sur  les  lieux  par  lean  De  Lery,  natif  de  La  Mar- 
gelle,  terre  de  Sainct  Sene,  au  Duche  de  Bourgoiigne. 
Pseaume  CVIIL  Seigneur,  ie  te  celebreray  entre  les  peuples, 
&  te  diray  Pseaumes  entre  les  nations.  A  Geneve.  Pour 
Antoine  Chuppin,  M.D.  LXXX." — 8  vo.,  pp.  382. 

'  Gallasius  writes,  September  i6tli,  from  Geneva,  to  Calvin, 
then  in  Frankfort,  '^  Richeriits  et  Quadrigarius  [Chartier] 
cum  Pontano  [du  Pont]  octavo  die  hujus  mensis  in  viamlse 
dederunt  eadem  alacritate  animi  quam  antea  prae  se  fere- 
bant.  Unum  tantuni  diem  discessum  eorum  distulit  Ponta- 
nus,  quod  torminibus  subito  correptus  itineris  laborera  ferre 
non  posset." 


Ilil 


! 


\  '1' 


VOYAGE  TO  ANTARCTIC  FRANCE. 


35 


little  flock  in  the  French  capital,  the  first  Prot- 
estant church  in  France :  and  the  visit  of  these 
ministers  was  well-timed,  as  on  the  way  to  their 
mission  field,  they  stopped  to  speak  to  their  fel- 
low-believers of  the  prospects  of  God's  kingdom 
in  the  heathen  world.  In  Paris  the  travelers 
were  joined  by  several  noblemen  who  had  heard 
of  the  expedition.  In  due  time  they  reached 
Honfleur,  in  Normandy,  their  appointed  place 
of  embarkation. 

While  waiting-  for  the  little  fleet  of  three  ves- 
sels whicn  the  king  had  promised  to  furnish  for 
their  voyage,  the  emigrants  experienced  one  of 
those  effects  of  the  popular  hatred  to  which  the 
Protestants  of  France  were  perpetually  exposed, 
even  in  times  of  peace.  Gathered  in 
lodgings,  they  were  celebrating  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per at  night,  when  a  mob  burst  in  upon  them, 
and  in  the  affray  that  followed,  one  of  their 
number,  the  captain  Saint  Denis,  was  killed. 

It  was  on  the  twentieth  of  November  that  the 
adventurers  launched  upon  "that  great  and  im- 
pestuous  sea,  the  Ocean."  A  nephew  of  Velle- 
gagnon,  the  sieur  Bois-le-Compte,  was  in  com- 
mand. His  flag-ship,  "la  petite  Roberge," 
carried  eighty  persons.  Jean  de  Ldry,  and  his 
companions,  sailed  with  Captain  de  Sainte- 
Marie  ;  and  a  third  vessel,  the  "  Rosee,"  had  on 
board  six  boys,  sent  over  to  learn  the  language 
of  the  counK:ry,  and  five  young  girls,  under  the 
care  of  a  matron.  The  voyage  lasted  nearly 
four  months.  It  was  disgraced  by  several  acts 
of  piracy,   perpetrated  by   Bois-le-Comte,   upon 


Introd. 
'556. 


their  Affiray  is 
Honflenr. 


Kovember 
20. 


>  t 


!  > 


-ii 


liiiii 


|Mi!i 


iiii 


i; 


36  ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 

introd.  Spanish  and  Portuguese  ships.  The  emigrants 
1557-  remonstrated  in  vain  with  the  commander 
against  these  lawless  acts,  which  he  doubtless 
sought  to  justify  by  the  maritime  customs  of  the 
time.' 
March  10  At  length,  on  Wednesday,  the  tenth  of  March, 
the  passengers  landed  on  the  island  Coligny,  in 
the  bay  of  Rio  de  Janeiro.  "The  first  thing 
we  did,"  says  Jean  de  Lery,  "  was  to  join  in 
thanksgiving  to  God."  The  new-comers  were 
led  at  once  into  the  presence  of  Villegagnon, 
who  welcomed  them  warmly.  These  courtesies 
over,  the  aged  sieur  du  Pont  addressed  him, 
setting  forth  the  motives  which  had  influenced 
his  companions  and  himself  in  undertaking 
a  voyage  attended  with  so  many  dangers  and 
hardships.  It  was,  he  said,  to  constitute  in 
that  country  a  Church  reformed  according  to 
the  word  of  God.  Villegagnon  replied,  declaring 
that  inasmuch  as  this  had  long  been  the  desire 
Viiie-  of  his  own  heart,  he  received  them  gladly  with 
^pfofe"'  this  understanding.  Nay,  it  was  his  purpose 
that  their  Church  should  be  the  best  reformed 
of  all,  and  even  far  beyond  others  :  and  that 
henceforth  vice  should  be  rebuked,  extravagance 
in  dress  corrected,  and  in  short  everything  that 
might  hinder  the  worship  of  God  in  its  purity 
removed.     Then,  clasping  his  hands,  and  raising 


sions 


'  It  deserves  to  be  noticed  that  Coligny  himself  had  earn- 
estly protested  against  piracy,  and  had  exerted  himself  for 
its  repression,  and  for  the  protection  of  commerce  upon  the 
high  seas. — Gaspard  de  Coligny,  Amiral  de  France  ;  parle 
comte  Jules  Delaborde,  Paris,  1882.     T.  III.,  p.  363. 


I' 'I  I 


INTERVIEW  WITH  VILLEGAGNON. 


37 


his  eyes  toward  heaven,  he  thanked  God  for  introd. 
sending  him  the  blessing  which  he  had  so  fer-  1557. 
vently  besought  from  Him  ;  and  turning  to  the 
Genevese,  he  addressed  them  as  his  children,  as- 
suring them  of  his  unselfish  design  to  provide 
for  their  welfare  and  for  that  of  those  who 
might  come  to  this  place  for  the  same  purposes. 
"  For,"  said  he,  "  I  am  planning  to  prepare  a 
refuge  for  the  poor  believers  who  may  be  perse- 
cuted in  France,  in  Spain,  and  elsewhere,  beyond 
the  sea,  to  the  end  that,  without  fear  of  king, 
emperor  or  other  potentate,  they  may  here  serve 
God  in  purity  according  to  His  will." 

This   interview   ended,   Villegagnon  led   the     First 
whole  company  into  a  cabin  that  stood  in  the    service, 
middle  of  the  island,   and  that  served  both  as 
chapel  and  as  refectory.     Here,  when  they  had 
sung   the   fifth    Psalm,    after   Marot's  version,^ 

*  Aux  paroles  que  je  veux  dire, 
Plaise  toi  I'oreille  prester  : 
Et  h.  cognoistre  t'arrester, 
Pourquoi  mon  cceur  pense  et  soupire, 
Souverain  Sire. 

Enten  h  la  voix  tres-ardente, 
De  ma  clameur,  mon  Dieu  mon  Roy, 
Veu  que  tant  seulement  b.  toi 
Ma  supplication  presente 
J'offre  et  presente. 

Matin  devant  que  jour  il  face, 
S'il  te  plaist,  tu  m'exauceras  : 
Car  bien  matin  prie  seras 
De  moi,  leuant  au  ciel  la  face. 
Attendant  grace. 

Tu  es  le  vrai  Dieu  qui  meschance 
N'  aimes  point,  ne  malignity  : 


I'  JT 


\      I 


if    ' 


fck 


iiii 


■III 


38     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 

introd.  Richer,  one  of  the  two  ministers,  preached,  tak- 
'557-  ing  for  his  text  the  fourth  verse  of  the  xxviith 
Psalm  :  One  thing  have  I  desired  of  the  Lord, 
that  will  I  seek  after,  that  I  may  dwell  in  the 
house  of  the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my  life. 
Doubtless  the  discourse  was  eloquent,'  as  the 
ViUegag-  occasion  was  inspiring.  But  the  preacher's  at- 
sin^iar  Mention,  and  that  of  his  audience,  must  have 
demeanor,  been  greatly  distracted  by  the  singular  conduct 
of  their  host.  Villegagnon,  throughout  the  ser- 
mon, "ceased  not  to  clasp  his  hands,  raise  his 
eyes  to  heaven,  heave  deep  sighs,  and  assume 
other  like  expressions,  insomuch  that  every  one 
marveled."  Less  edifying  was  the  surprise  that 
awaited  the  voyagers,  on  the  same  day,  when,  a 
few  hours  later,  they  were  summoned  into  the 
cabin,  now  transformed  into  a  dining-hall.  It 
was  a  sorry  feast  to  which  the  austere  com- 
mander invited  them  :  consisting  of  boiled  fish, 
and  bread  prepared  after  the  manner  of  the  sav- 
ages from  dried  roots  reduced  to  flour,  together 
with  certain  other  roots  baked  in  the  ashes. 
The  rocky  island,  upon  which  the  little  settle- 
ment was  perched,  contained  neither  spring  nor 

Et  auec  qui  en  verity 
Malfaicteurs  n'  auront  accointance, 
Ne  demeurance. 

Jamais  le  fol  et  temeraire 
N'ose  apparoir  devant  tes  yeux  : 
Car  tousiours  te  sont  odieux 
Ceux  qui  prenent  plaisir  k  faire 
Mauuais  affaire. 

*  "  II  avoit  le  talent  de  la  parole,"  says  Arcfere. — Histoire 
de  la  ville  de  la  Rochelle,  IL,  103. 


GLOWING  ANTICIPATIONS. 


39 


running  stream,  and  the  only  beverage  provided    introd. 
for  the  company  was  drawn  from  a  tank  which     1557. 
Villegagnon's  men  had  dug  upon  their  first  ar- 
rival. 

The  sober  meal  concluded,  Du  Pont  and  his 
companions  were  led  to  the  quarters  provided 
for  them.  These  were  small  Indian  huts,  built 
near  the  water's  edge,  which  the  savages  in  the 
governor's  employ  were  just  completing,  by 
roofing  them  over  with  grass.  For  beds,  they 
had  hammocks,  suspended  in  the  air,  according 
to  the  South  American  custom.'  But  it  was  a 
sleepless  night,  we  may  suppose,  to  some  of  the 
party,  if  not  to  all.  The  air  was  balmy — as  mild 
as  that  of  May  in  their  native  land.  The  cloud- 
less heavens,  revealing  new  constellations — the 
bay,  its  irregular  shores  fringed  with  graceful 
palm-trees — the  encircling  mountains,  that  re-  Asieepiess 
called  to  the  Genevese  their  own  majestic  Alps  °*^  *' 
— must  have  kept  the  eyes  of  more  than  one  of 
them  waking.  But  to  the  pious  ministers,  at 
least,  the  mental  prospect  was  still  more  im- 
pressive. This,  then,  was  the  New  World,  where 
the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  so  lately  revealed 
in  its  purity  to  the  nations  of  Europe,  was  to  be 


'  The  Portuguese  missionaries  who  found  their  way  to 
Brazil  about  the  same  time  with  the  French  Calvinists, 
speak  of  the  Indian  hammock  as  a  novel  but  an  agreeable 
contrivance.  It  is  still  in  use  at  the  present  day,  among  the 
tribes  of  the  Rio  Negro  and  the  Amazon.  The  hammock  is 
woven  from  the  fibrous  portions  of  certain  varieties  of  the 
palm-tree. — Brazil  and  the  Brazilians,  by  Rev,  James  C. 
Fletcher  and  Rev.  D.  P,  Kidder,  D.D.,  sixth  edition,  pp. 
68,  468. 


1! 


r    '.:ll 


■'^ 

'   11 

I 

\ 

i\ 

-4 

I'l 

;            li 

III 


irr: 
i  'I' 

i, 


40     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :   BRAZIL. 


Introd, 
1557- 


m 


"■I  I 


il^l^ 


1 1 


!  II 


preached  to  savage  tribes  still  immersed  in 
heathen  darkness.'  Here,  in  the  first  mission- 
field  of  Protestantism,  the  pure  doctrines  of 
Christianity  were  to  be  announced,  before  the 
emissaries  of  Loyola  could  introduce  their  cor- 
rupted creed.  Here,  "Antarctic  France"  was 
to  be  possessed  for  the  king,  and  for  that  perse- 
cuted cause  to  which  the  good  Coligny  was 
lending  his  powerful  influence."  It  is  not  un- 
likely, however,  that  these  glowing  anticipations 
may  have  been  shaded  somewhat  by  recollec- 
tions of  the  past  few  hours,  as  the  ministers  re- 
membered with  perplexity  the  singular  demean- 
or of  Villegagnon  at  the  religious  service  in 
which  they  had  engaged,  and  his  excessive 
protestations  of  zeal  for  the  reformed  religion. 
Three  weeks  passed  by,  and  the  commander's 
secondst.  great  show  of  piety  was  kept  up  so  admirably, 
*  *  that  the  good  minister  Richer,  captivated  by  his 
eloquence  and  soundness  in  the  faith,  declared 
to  his  companions  that  they  ought  to  esteem 
themselves  happy  in  having  a  second  Saint  Paul 
in  this  extraordinary  man.  To  testify  his  zeal 
for  religion,  Villegagnon  lost  no  time  in  establish- 
ing an  order  of  public  worship  for  his  colony. 
Evening  prayer  was  to  be  said  daily,  after  the 

'  "  Voyage .  .  .  qui  donna  une  merveilleuse  esperance 
d'avancer  le  royaume  de  Dieu  jusques  au  bout  du  monde." — 
Theodore  de  Beze,  Histoire  eccl^siastique,  livre  II. 

'  "  Osant  assurer  qu'  11  ne  se  trouvera  a  par  toute  I'antiquit^ 
qu'  il  y  ait  iamais  eu  Capitaine  Francois  et  Chrestien,  qui 
tout  k  une  fois  ait  estendu  le  regne  de  Jesus  Christ  Roy  des 
Rois,  et  Seigneur  des  Seigneurs,  et  les  limites  de  son  Prince 
Souuerain  en  pays  si  lointain." — De  Lery. 


Villegag' 
non  a 


' 


HOLY  COMMUNION  ADMINISTERED.       41 

colonists  had  left  their  work  :^  and  a  sermon,  introd. 
not  exceeding  one  hour  in  length,  was  to  be  1557. 
preached.  It  was  on  Sunday,  the  twenty-first  of 
March,  1557,  that  this  order  of  worship  was  sol- 
emnly inaugurated.  A  preparatory  service  was 
held,  according  to  the  custom  already  adopted 
in  the  French  Reformed  Churches  ;  and  those 
who  wished  to  communicate  were  catechised.  At 
the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  which  fol- 
lowed, Villegagnon  insisted  that  the  shipmasters 
and  seamen  who  were  not  of  the  Reformed  relig- 
ion should  go  out  from  the  assembly  ;  and  then, 
to  the  amazement  of  some  and  the  edification  of 
others,  he  kneeled  down,  and  offered  two  lengthy 
prayers.  After  this  he  presented  himself  the 
first  to  receive  the  sacrament,  kneeling  upon  a 
piece  of  velvet  cloth  which  a  page  had  spread  on 
the  ground  before  him. 

The  two  ministers  were  perhaps  the  last  to  see  Letters  to 
any  occasion  for  uneasiness  in  the  governor's  con- 
duct. The  ship  that  sailed  early  in  April  on  its 
homeward  trip,  carried  letters  from  Richer  and 
Chartier  to  Calvin  and  to  another  correspondent, 
extolling  in  rapturous  terms  their  "  brother  and 
father"  the  sieur  de  Villegagnon.'  The  colony 
under  his  pious  care  presents  the  appearance  of 
a  Christian  household,  or  rather  of  a  church,  like 
that  which  in  apostolic  times  gathered  in  the 
house  of  Nymphas.  From  this  nucleus,  it  is  to 
be  hoped,  illustrious  churches  shall  spring  forth, 

'  "  Apres  qu'on  avoit  laissd  la  besongne." — Lescarbot. 
'  See  these  letters,  in  the  appendix  to  this  volume. 


1; 


Calvin. 


\: 


:  ■  i' 

I 
1 


1  '< 


i 


■  , 

ll  ' 

;    \ 

„ 

• 

42   ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :  BRAZIL. 


12    ■' 


!  ffl 


liljii! 


introd.    and  overspread  the  vast  continent  of  Antarctic 

1557,     France,  which   is  now  waiting  for  the  Gospel. 

April.  Concerning  the  barbarous  inhabitants  of  the 
land,  the  ministers  write  with  undissembled  hor- 
ror. Not  only  are  they  accustomed  to  eat 
human  flesh,  but  they  seem  to  be  in  all  respects 
sunk  to  the  very  level  of  the  beasts,  not  know- 
ing good  from  evil,  and.  having  no  conception  of 
the  being  of  a  God.  The  ministers  are  op- 
pressed with  a  sense  of  their  inability  to  reach 
these  perishing  heathen,  with  the  good  news  of 
Redemption.  Their  unacquaintance  with  the 
language  of  the  aborigines,  and  the  want  of  com- 
petent interpreters,  shut  them  off  from  immediate 
effort  in  this  direction.  But  great  things  are  ex- 
pected of  the  young  men  who  have  come  from 

Plans  Geneva  expressly  to  learn  the  native  dialect,  and 
arywork.  prepare  themselves  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the 
savages.  They  have  already  begun  this  work, 
and  are  spending  their  time  on  shore  among  the 
people.  God  grant,  adds  Richer,  that  this  may 
be  without  peril  to  their  own  souls. 

Villegagnon  himself  wrote  to  the  great  re- 
former, by  the  same  ship.  His  letter  is  not 
surpassed  by  that  of  Richer  and  Chartier,  in  the 
profusion  of  its  assurances  of  respect  and  devo- 
tion. He  acknowledges  the  letter  which  he  has 
received  from  Calvin  by  these  brethren,  and 
promises  for  himself  and  for  his  colony  that  the 
counsels  given  shall  be  observed  even  to  the  min- 
utest particulars.  He  rejoices  in  the  coming  of 
the  ministers,  to  relieve  him  of  the  burden 
of    care  for   the    spiritual  interests  of    his  fol- 


VILLEGAGNON  WRITES  TO  CALVIN.        43 

lowers,  and  to  aid  him  by  their  advice  and  introd. 
sympathy  in  all  things.  He  recounts  the  hard-  jT^^ 
ships  and  perplexities  of  his  undertaking,  and  April, 
especially  his  anxieties  for  the  moral  and  religious 
welfare  of  the  colonists.  Nothing,  indeed,  but 
a  regard  for  his  own  good  name,  prevents  him 
from  doing  as  others  have  done,  and  abandoning 
the  enterprise.  But  he  is  confident  that,  hav- 
ing a  work  to  do  fot  Christ,  he  will  be  sustained 
and  prospered.  He  closes  his  long  letter  with 
best  wishes  for  the  lengthened  life  and  usefulness 
of  the  reformer  and  his  colleagues,  and  sends 
his  special  salutations  to  the  pious  Renee  of 
France,  the  daughter  of  Louis  XH.,  and  the 
warm  friend  of  Calvin  and  of  the  Protestant 
cause. 

Before  the  vessel  that  bore  these  letters  could  Ckithenng 
reach  its  destination,  the  aspect  of  affairs  on  the 
island  Coligny  had  greatly  changed.  Villegag- 
non's  zeal  for  orthodoxy  and  strictness  of  living 
had  passed  into  captiousness  and  querulousness, 
ending  in  pronounced  opposition.  He  began  by 
finding  fault  with  the  manner  of  celebrating  the 
Lord's  Supper  and  of  administering  Baptism, 
as  practiced  by  the  Genevan  ministers.  Pro- 
testing that  he  wished  only  to  know  and 
to  follow  the  teachings  of  the  Gospel,  he  sent 
one  of  the  ministers,  Guillaume  Chartier,  to 
France,  by  a  vessel  homeward  bound  from  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  in  order  to  confer  with  the  prin- 
cipal Reformed  theologians  upon  certain  ques- 
tions  of   dogma   and   casuistry   which   he   had 


clouds. 


I. 

1       K    jt 


V* 


m 


4  li 


|i!ii 


mission. 


44      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:    BRAZIL. 

introd.  raised.'  The  same  ship  carried  to  France  ten 
1557-  young  savages,  who  had  been  captured  in  war 
by  one  of  the  native  tribes  friendly  to  the 
French,  and  sold  to  Villegagnon  as  slaves, 
chartier's  These  Were  designed  as  a  present  to  the  king, 
who  graciously  received  them,  and  distributed 
them  among  the  nobles  of  his  court.  Villegag- 
non did  not  wait  for  the  m.inister's  return,-  to 
announce  his  conclusions  with  reference  to  the 
Protestant  doctrines.  He  soon  declared  that 
his  opinion  of  Calvin  had  been  changed,  and 
that  he  now  held  the  so-called  reformer  to  be 
an  arch-heretic  and  an  apostate.  Villegagnon 
attributed  this  change  in  his  religious  views  to 
the  arguments  of  one  Jean   Contat,^  a  student 

*  According  to  De  L^ry — who,  however,  confesses  his 
inability  to  understand  Villegagnon's  views — he  rejected 
both  the  doctrine  of  Transubstantiation  and  that  of  Con- 
substantiation,  and  yet  held  to  the  bodily  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  a  sense  peculiarly  his  own.  The 
practical  questions  upon  which  he  professed  a  desire  for  in- 
struction, were  such  as  these  :  Whether  the  Lord's  Supper 
should  be  celebrated  with  a  certain  degree  of  pomp  :  whether 
the  wine  should  be  mingled  with  water  :  whether  unleavened 
bread  ought  to  be  used  :  whether,  if  any  of  the  consecrated 
bread  should  remain  after  the  celebration  of  the  ordinance,  it 
ought  to  be  set  aside  as  sacred,  etc. — La  France  Protestante, 
deuxieme  edition.     Vol.  IIL,  p.  795. 

'  Chartier,  indeed,  did  not  return  to  Brazil.  He  incurred 
Calvin's  displeasure  by  delaying  the  fulfillment  of  his  mission 
for  several  months  after  his  arrival  in  Europe.  His  ex- 
cuse was,  that  certain  important  despatches,  which  he  was 
expecting  from  Brazil,  had  been  withheld  by  Villegagnon. 
Nothing  is  known  positively  concerning  Chartier's  subse- 
quent career  ;  but  there  are  reasons  for  identifying  him  with 
a  minister  of  the  same  name,  who  v;as  chaplain  to  Jeanne 
d'Albret,  about  the  year  1581. — La  France  Protestante : 
ubi  supra, 

*  "  Un  nomm^  Jean  Contat  etudiant  de  Sorbonne,  aspir- 


I'iil 


CHANGE  IN  VILLEGAGNON. 


45 


trioities. 


of  the  University  of  Paris,  who  had  abjured  the  inteod. 
Roman  Catholic  faith,  but  who  soon  began  to  1557. 
discuss  points  of  theology  with  the  ministers, 
generally  taking  the  side  of  Rome.  It  was 
shrewdly  suspected,  however,  that  certain  letters 
of  warning  which  the  commander  received  about 
this  time  from  France  had  more  to  do  with 
his  conversion.'  Villegagnon  found  that  in  his 
professions  of  friendliness  toward  the  Reformed 
religion  he  had  gone  too  far.  While  seeking  to 
ingratiate  himself  with  Coligny  and  the  Protest- 
ant party,  whose  favor  he  needed  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  expedition,  he  was  in  danger  of 
incurring  the  displeasure  of  the  king. 

The  colonists  were  sorely  disappointed  in  His  eccen- 
their  leader.  But  they  had  still  greater  cause 
for  uneasiness,  in  view  of  the  change  of  temper 
that  accompanied  this  change  of  religious  pro- 
fession. Villegagnon  became  moody  and  ca- 
pricious. His  eccentric  manners,  indicating  an 
unbalanced   mind,    his    frequent    outbursts    of 

ant  secretement  k  je  ne  sais  quelle  dignity  episcopale  aussi 
fantastique  qu'etait  le  royaume  de  Villegagnon,  etant  ver.u 
le  jour  destine  pour  cel^brer  la  C^ne,  demanda  oil  etaient 
les  habillemens  sacerdotaux,  et  commenga  de  disputer  du 
pain  sans  levain,  qu'il  disait  etre  necessaire,  et  de  meler  de 
I'eau  avec  le  vin  de  la  Cene,  avec  autres  questions  sembla- 
bles.  .  .  .  Le  different  ne  laissa  pas  de  croitre,  voire 
jusques  h  ce  point,  que  Richer  faisant  un  bapteme,  condam- 
nant  la  superstition  qu'on  y  ajoute,  Villegagnon  dementit 
tout  hautement  le  ministre,  protestant  de  ne  se  trouver  plus 
k  ses  sermons,  et  de  n'adh^rer  a  la  secte  qu'il  appellait 
calvinienne." — De  B^ze,  Histoire  universelle,  livre  II. 

*  "  Sollicit*^,  comme  1'  on  croit,  par  les  lettres  du  Cardinal 
de  Lorraine." — De  Thou,  Histoire  Universelle,  tome  II.,  p. 
383- 


?  :1 


' 


1,   '« 


I: 


f   ]    } 

t       1 


.( 


i   i 


Ui 


' 


h 


•r*     ■■  1' :  ff 


IT 


I! 


ill! 


ii 


IIHI 


46     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :   BRAZIL. 


Introd. 


1557- 


Enpture    ui  Clie  iOrt. 
with  the 


u 


violent  rage,  and  the  cruel  punishments  he  in- 
flicted on  any  that  displeased  him,  alienated  and 
disgusted  his  followers.  Several  of  them  aban- 
doned the  colony,  and  went  off  to  seek  their 
fortune  in  the  wilderness.  More  than  one 
conspiracy  against  the  governor's  life  was  de- 
tected among  the  soldiers  and  seamen  on  the 
island.  Toward  Du  Pont  anr  *  associates,  he 
now  showed  himself  haughty  .d  overbearing. 
At  length  they  declared  plainly  to  the  com- 
mander, that  since  he  had  rejected  the  Gospel, 
they  considered  themselves  no  longer  bound  to 
serve  him,  and  refused  to  work  at  the  building 
Thereupon,  Villegagnon  cut  short 
oenevese!  their  provisions,  and  threatened  to  put  them  in 
irons.  The  threat  precipitated  a  rupture  which 
could  not  have  been  long  deferred.  Du  Pont 
answered  for  his  brethren,  that  they  would  not 
submit  to  such  treatment ;  and  "-hat  inasmuch  as 
he  was  not  disposed  to  maint  them  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  religion,  th«.^  enounced  his 
authority.  Villegagnon  quailed  before  this  fear- 
less and  determined  attitude,  and  made  no  at- 
tempt to  execute  his  threat.  But  not  long 
after,  he  resolved  to  rid  himself  altogether  of  the 
Protestant  leaders,  and  ordered  them  to  leave 
the  island.  They  obeyed  at  once — "Although," 
observes  one  of  them  in  his  narrative  of  the  ex- 
pedition, "  we,  ourselves,  might  have  readily 
driven  him  from  the  place,  but  we  would  give 
him  no  occasion  to  complain  of  us."  Removing 
to  the  main  land,  they  awaited  the  departure  of 
a  ship  from  the  coast  of  Normandy,  which  was 


DU  PONT  LEAVES  THE  ISLAND. 


47 


then    taking   in    her   cargo   for   the  homeward    introd, 

trip.'  1557- 

The  Genevese  had  spent  eight  months  on  the 
island  Coligny.'  Two  months  more  elapsed 
before  the  vessel  was  ready  to  sail.  Meanwhile 
Du  Pont  and  his  companions,  who  were  now  at 
liberty  to  employ  themselves  as  they  pleased, 
beguiled  the  time  by  visiting  some  of  the 
friendly  tribes  of  Indians  in  the  neighborhood. 
The  savages  appear  to  have  been  singularly 
susceptible  of  religious  emotions.  One  day,  Psaim- 
Jean  de  Lery  tells  us,  as  he  was  walking  in  Vhfforest" 
the  forest,  accompanied  by  three  or  four  of  the 
natives,  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of  the  tropical 
scenery  so  enchanted  him  that  he  could  not  re- 
frain from  singing,  and  he  broke  forth  in  the 
words  of  the  metrical  psalm  :  "  Siis.  suSy  mon 
ame,  il  te  faut  dire   bieru'^      His   companions, 


in 


<  % 


'  De  T.ery,  Hisloire  d'un  Voyage  fait  en  la  Terre  du  Bre- 
sil,  p.  95      De  Thou,  Histoire  Universelle,  tome  IL,  p.  383. 

"  Two  'f  Du  Font's  followers,  the  sieurs  de  la  Cha- 
pelle  ano  hi  Boissi  remained  with  Villegagnon  after  the 
departure  (-  the  others  ;  but  they  soon  joined  their  brethren 
on  the  main. — (De  L^ry,  p.  378.) 

^  Sus,  sus,  mon  ame,  il  te  faut  dire  bien 
De  I'Eternel  :  6  mon  vrai  Dieu,  combien 
Ta  grandeur  est  excellent'  et  notoire  ! 
Tu  es  vestu  de  splendeur  et  de  gloire  : 
Tu  es  vestu  de  splendeur  proprement, 
Ne  plus  ne  moins  que  d'un  accoustrement : 
Pour  pavilion  que  d'un  tel  Roi  soit  digne, 
Tu  rends  le  ciel  ainsi  qu'une  courtine 

Lambris^  d'eaux  est  ton  palais  voust^  : 
En  lieu  de  char,  sur  la  nue  es  port^  : 
Et  les  forts  vents  qui  parmi  I'air  souspirent 
Ton  chariot  avec  leurs  ailes  tirent. 


ir 


'J. 


liiii 


Introd. 

1557- 


A 

Brazilian 
village. 


m 


I  I 


48      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :    BRAZIL. 

filled  with  surprise  and  delight,  asked  the  mean- 
ing of  the  words.  When  this  had  been  explained 
to  them,  they  exclaimed,  using  their  ordinary 
expression  of  wonder  and  admiration,  ''Teh!  O 
how  happy  are  you,  to  know  so  many  things  that 
are  hidden  from  us  poor  miserable  creatures  !  "  ' 
On  another  occasion,  a  few  of  the  French  were 
entertained  with  great  hospitality  in  one  of  the 
principal  villages  of  the  region,  some  miles  back 
from  the  coast.  The  whole  population  of  the 
place  collected  around  the  strangers,  as  they 
seated  themselves  at  the  feast  prepared  for  them, 
the  old  men  of  the  village,  proud  of  the  honor 
shown  to  their  people  by  the  visit  of  these  dis- 
tinguished guests,  constituting  themselves  a 
body  guard  to  keep  the  children  from  disturbing 
them.  Each  of  them  was  armed  with  a  curious 
weapon,  two  or  three  feet  long,  in  the  shape  of  a 
saw,  made  of  the  spine  of  a  large  fish.  At  the 
close  of  the  feast,  one  of  these  old  men  ap- 
proached the  party,  and  asked  the  meaning  of  a 
strange  procedure  which  he  had  noticed.  Twice 
— before  partaking  of  food,  and  again  after  eat- 
ingf — he  had  seen  the  Frenchmen  remove  their 
hats,  and  remain  perfectly  still,  while  one  of  their 

Des  vents  aussi  diligens  et  legers 

Fais  tes  herauts,  postes  et  messagers  : 

Et  foudre  et  feu  fort  prompts  ^  ton  service, 

Sent  les  sergeans  de  ta  haute  justice.  Ps.  civ. 

' "  Usant  de  leur  interjection  desbahissement  Teh!  ils 
dirent,  O  que  vous  autres  Mairs  estent  heureux  de  scavoir 
tant  de  secrets  qui  sont  cachez  i  nous  chetifs  &  pouvres 
miserables." — De  L6ry.  Histoire  d'un  Voyage  fait  en  la 
Terre  du  Breiil,  p.  290. 


n 


PREACHING  TO  THE  SAVAGES. 


49 


number  uttered  some  words.  To  whom  was  he  introd. 
speaking?  Was  it  to  them,  or  to  some  person  1557. 
not  present?  The  pious  Huguenots  thought 
this  a  providential  opening  for  the  instruction  of 
these  savages  in  the  true  rehgion  ;  and  they 
hastened  to  enter  it,  with  the  help  of  the  inter- 
preter ..ho  accompanied  them.  They  told  them 
of  the  great  God  to  whom  they  prayed,  and  who, 
though  they  could  not  see  Him,  heard  their  words 
and  knew  their  most  secret  thoughts.  It  was  this 
C'lod  who  had  brought  them  in  safety  across  the 
wide  ocean,  preserving  them  during  a  voyage  of 
many  months,  while  they  were  out  of  sight  of  the 
solid  land  ;  and  because  they  served  Him  and 
trusted  in  Him,  they  had  no  fear  of  being  tor- 
mented by  Aigna — the  dreaded  demon  of  these 
savages — either  in  this  life  or  in  one  to  come. 
They  exhorted  their  hearers  to  abandon  the 
errors  taught  them  by  their  lying  priests,  and 
especially  to  leave  off  the  barbarous  practice  of 
eating  the  flesh  of  their  enemies,  promising  them 
that  if  they  would  do  this,  they  should  enjoy  the 
same  blessings  with  themselves.  The  Indians 
listened  with  breathless  attention  to  the  account  Attentive 

)l  A  A.  PAT*  CI 

of  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  fall  of  man, 
in  which,  says  Jean  de  Lery,  who  was  the  spokes- 
man, "  I  endeavored  to  show  them  man's  lost  con- 
dition, and  so  prepare  them  to  receive  Jesus 
Christ."  The  discourse  lasted  two  hours,  and  left 
the  audience  in  a  state  of  great  amazement.  At 
length  one  of  the  old  men  replied.  "Certainly," 
said  he,  "these  are  v/onderful  things  that  you 
have   told  us,  and  things   that   are  very  good, 


i\ 


' 


*    *  •  s  ■■■. 
'■■■■;  ■!] 

5     '■  :  i  ' 

■"    i'  ^ 


.1 


.■'  ::il 


i\  . 

i  -  i. 

Hi 

i    I 

'■11  ;i 


1  ^  *■ 


\v 


ill 


|i 


50     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:   BRAZIL 


!i' 


iili 


introd.  though  \ve  havc  never  known  them  till  now. 
1557.  Nevertheless,  your  words  have  brought  to  my 
mind  what  we  have  often  heard  our  fathers 
relate,  namely,  that  long  ago,  so  many  moons 
that  we  have  not  been  able  to  keep  the  reckon- 
An  Indian  jng  of  them,  there  came  a  JMair — a  European — 
clothed  and  bearded  like  some  of  you,  who  tried 
to  persuade  our  people  to  obey  your  God,  tell- 
ing them  what  you  have  just  told  us.  But  our 
people  would  not  believe  his  teachings ;  and 
when  he  left  there  came  another,  who  gave  them 
a  sword,  in  token  of  a  curse,'  and  from  that  time 
to  this  we  have  slain  one  another  with  the 
sword,  insomuch  that,  having  become  used  to  it, 
if  now  we  should  forsake  our  ancient  custom,  all 
the  other  tribes  around  us  would  laugh  us  to 
scorn."  ^    The  French  warmly  remonstrated  with 


'  De  Lery  speculates  as  to  the  Mair  who  had  come  so 
many  hundreds  of  years  before  to  announce  the  true  God  to 
th**  natives  of  Brazil,  and  somewhat  timidly  ventures  the 
query,  "  si  c'auroit  point  este  I'un  des  Apostres."  As  for 
the  one  who  followed,  he  suggests  the  apocalyptic  vision  of 
the  r:d  horse  and  him  that  sat  thereon,  to  whom  it  was 
given  "  to  take  peace  from  the  earth,  and  that  they  should 
kill  one  another  :  and  there  was  given  unto  him  a  great 
sword." — Revelation,  vi.  4. 

"  "  Nous  fusmes  plus  de  2.  heures  sur  ceste  matiere  de 
la  creation,  dont  pour  brievete  ie  ne  feray  ici  plus  long  dis- 
cours.  Or  tous  prestans  I'oreille,  avec  grande  admiration 
escoutoyent  attenlivement  de  maniere  qu'estans  entrez  en 
esbahissement  de  ce  qu'ils  auoyent  ouy,  il  y  eut  un 
vieillard  qui  prenant  la  parole  dit  :  Certainement  vous 
nous  auez  dit  merueilles,  &  choses  tres  bonnes  que  nous 
n'auions  iamais  entendtles  :  toutesfois,  dit-il,  vostre  harengue 
m'a  fait  rememorer  ce  que  nous  auos  ouy  reciter  beaiicoup 
de  fois  ^  nos  grads  peres  :  assauoir  que  des  longtemps  & 
d^s  le  nombre  de  tat   de   Lunes  que  nous  n'en  auons  pus 


IP.  I 

;  i  "  Il  I  I 


TRANSIENT  IMPRESSIONS. 


51 


their  hearers.  They  entreated  them  to  disre-  introd. 
gard  the  foolish  ridicule  to  which  they  might  ,^^7 
be  subjected,  and  assured  them  that  if  they 
would  worship  and  serve  the  one  living  and  true 
God,  He  would  help  them  ;  and  should  their 
enemies  attack  them  on  that  account,  they 
should  vanquish  them  all.  "  In  short,"  says  Jean 
de  Lery,  "  our  hearers  were  so  moved  by  the 
power  which  God  gave  to  our  words,  that  some 
of  them  promised  to  follow  our  teachings,  and 
declared  that  they  would  never  again  eat 
human  flesh  :  and  the  interview  closed  with 
a  prayer  offered  by  one  of  our  company, 
which  our  interpreter  translated  into  their  lan- 
guage, the  savages  kneeling  together  with  us." 
It  must  be  added,  however,  that  the  hopes 
awakened  in  the  hearts  of  the  zealous  mission- 
aries were  soon  grievously  disappointed  :  for  in 
the  middle  of  the  night,  as  they  lay  in  the  ham- 
mocks which  the  hospitable  savages  had  pro- 
vided for  them,  they  heard  the  whole  band  sing-  The  war- 
ing a  war-song,  the  purport  of  which  was,  that  "*"*■ 
to  revenge  themselves    on   their  enemies,  they 


mm 


M 


:'      H 


II'' 


I  ; 


i  ;  f- 


m 


retenir  le  conte,  un  Mair,  c'est  k  dire  Frangois  ou  etranger 
vestu  &:  barbu  comme  aucuns  de  vous  autres,  vint  en  ce  pays 
ici,  lequel  pour  les  penser  ranger  ^  I'obeissance  de  vostre 
Dieii,  leur  tint  le  mesme  lagage  que  vous  nous  auez  main- 
tenant  tenu  :  mais  comme  nous  tenons  aussi  de  peres  en  fils, 
ils  ne  le  voulurent  pas  croire  :  &  partant  il  en  vint  vn  autre 
qui  en  signe  de  malediction  leur  bailla  I'esped,  dequoy  depuis 
nous  nous  sommes  tousiours  tuez  I'vn  I'autre  ;  tellement, 
qu'en  estans  entrez  si  auant  en  possession,  si  maintenant 
laissans  noslre  coustume  nous  desistions,  toutes  les  nations 
qui  nous  sont  voisines  se  moqueroyent  denous." — DeL^ry, 
pp.  283,  284. 


I  ' 


I 


Introd. 

1557- 


-I  I 


!    ! 


i'i 


I  i 


The 


52      ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:   BRAZIL. 

must  slay  and  eat  more  victims  than  ever  be- 
fore. "  Such,"  says  De  Lery,  "  is  the  inconstancy 
of  these  poor  people,  a  striking  illustration  of 
human  depravity.  "  Notwithstanding,"  he  adds, 
"  I  verily  believe  that  if  Villegagnon  had  not 
proved  recreant  to  the  Reformed  religion,  and 
had  we  have  remained  longer  in  that  country, 
some  of  them  might  have  been  attracted  and 
won  to  Christ." ' 

There  are  few  accounts  of  peril  and  suffering 
at  sea  more  frightful  than  that  of  the  returning 
voyage  of  Du  Pont  and  his  companions,  from 
the  coast  of  Brazil.  The  story  has  been  mi- 
^voytSe'^  nutely  told  by  two  of  the  sufferers,  the  minister 
Richer,  and  Jean  de  Lery.  The  ship  on  which 
they  had  taken  passage  proved  to  be  a  crazy 
bark,  leaky  and  worm-eaten,  and  almost  water- 
logged. Before  they  were  out  of  sight  of  land, 
five  of  the  party  losing  heart  asked  to  be  sent 
back.  They  were  accordingly  put  in  a  boat, 
and  reached  the  shore  safely,  but  only  to  meet 
from  Villeirafrnon  a  worse  fate  than  that  of  their 
brethren.  The  rest  pursued  their  way ;  and 
after  five  months,  in  the  course  of  which  a 
number  died  of  sheer  starvation,  the  survivors 
landed  in  a  state  of  indescribable  misery,  upon 
the  coast  of  Bretagne.  But  their  dangers  were 
not  over  when  they  had  escaped  the  perils  of 
the  sea.     Villegagnon  had  intrusted  the  master 


'  "  Toutesfois  i'  ay  opinion  que  si  Villegagnon  ne  se  fust 
reuolte  de  la  Religion  reform^e,  &  que  nous  fussions  de- 
meurez  plus  longtemps  en  ce  pays  \h,  qu'on  en  eust  attir^  & 
gagne  quelques  vns  k  lesus  Christ." 


VILLEGAGNON'S  TREACHERY. 


53 


Introd. 

1558. 


of  the  ship  with  a  packet  of  letters,  to  be  de- 
hvered  to  certain  persons  on  his  arrival  in 
France.  Among  these  letters,  there  was  one 
addressed  to  the  nearest  magistrate.  It  con- 
tained a  formal  accusation  against  the  bearers, 
as  heretics,  and  recommended  that  they  be  forth- 
with consigned  to  the  stake.  Happily,  the  sieur 
Du  Pont,  the  leader  of  the  little  band,  took  coun- 
sel with  some  magistrates  whom  he  found  to  be 
well  affected  toward  the  Protestant  cause. 
These,  so  far  from  molesting  the  travelers,  en- 
tertained them  with  the  utmost  kindness,  and 
sent  them  on  their  journey.' 

Little  remains  to  be  said  of  the  unfortunate  Sufferers 
Brazilian  expedition.  Three  of  the  five  men 
who  had  turned  back  to  the  ship,  were  at  once 
sentenced  by  Villegagnon  to  be  drowned,  as 
heretics  and  rebels.  The  names  of  these  suf- 
ferers have  been  preserved,  and  enrolled  in  the 
martyrology  of  the  French  Reformation.  They 
were  Pierre  Bourdon,^  Jean  du  Bordel,  and 
Mathieu  Verneuil.     "  Thus,"  observes  Jean  de 


for  the 
foith. 


'  Pierre  Richer,  dit  de  Lisle,  made  his  way  to  La  Ro- 
chelle,  where  he  found  the  nucleus  of  a  Protestant  congre- 
galion,  which  had  been  gathered  by  Charles  de  Clermont  a 
few  months  before.  He  deserves,  says  Callot,  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  father  of  the  Rochellese  reformation,  because 
of  the  part  he  took  in  the  organization  of  the  church  in  that 
place.  On  Sunday,  November  17,  1558,  he  officiated  at  the 
formation  of  the  first  Consistory  of  La  Rochelle.  (La  Ro- 
cl.elle  protestante,  pp.  24,  25.)  Richer  died  in  La  Rochelle, 
March  8,  1580.  (Ibid.  See  also  Delmas,  Eglise  reformce 
de  la  Rochelle,  p.  434). 

''  Pierre  Bourdon  was  a  native  of  Ambonay  in  Cham- 
pagne, France,  who  had  taken  refuge  at  Geneva  in  Septem- 


ber 


'555- 


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H. 


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Jaan 
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hi  i 


54     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 

introd.     Lery,   "  Villegagnon  was  the  first  to  shed    the 
1558.     blood  of  God's  children  in  that  newly-discovered 
country  ;  and  because  of  that  cruel  deed,  he  has 
well  been  called  the  Cain  of  America'' 

Of  the  Protestants  who  had  remained  on  the 
island,  a  number  now  escaped  to  the  continent. 
They  soon  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Portu- 
guese, who  were  not  more  disposed  than  the 
treacherous  Villegagnon  to  show  mercy  to  Cal- 
vinists.  One  of  the  fugitives  was  induced  by 
threats  or  by  promises  to  renounce  his  faith. 
Three  others  were  thrown  into  prison.  Among 
these  was  a  man  of  note,  Jean  Boles,  a  scholar 
versed  in  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages. 
The  Jesuits  spared  no  effort  to  persuade  him  to 
follow  his  companion's  example.  Boles,  how- 
ever, remained  firm  throughout  a  captivity  of 
eight  years.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  the  Jesuit 
1W7.  Provincial  ordered  him  to  be  brought  to  the 
newly-founded  city  of  St.  Sebastian — now  Rio  de 
Janeiro — and  there  put  to  a  cruel  death,  in 
order  that  any  of  his  Protestant  countrymen,  still 
lingering  in  that  region,  might  take  warning 
by  his  fate.  The  Jesuit  writers  represent  this 
martyr  as  having  recanted  shortly  before  his  ex- 
ecution. If  so,  his  recantation  must  have  been 
made,  according  to  their  own  showing,  under 
promise  of  reprieve,  or  of  an  easier  mode  of 
death.  For  they  relate,  that  when  the  execu- 
tioner showed  awkwardness  in  the  performance 
of  his  work,  the  Provincial  interposed,  and  gave 
him  directions  how  to  dispatch  the  heretic  more 
speedily,  "  fearing  lest  he  should  become  impa- 


Ill 


\v-  i?1 


THE  COLONY  BROKEN  UP. 


55 


tient,   being  an    obstinate    man,  and  newly  re- 
claimed." 

Meanwhile,  Villegagnon's  colony  had  been 
entirely  broken  up  by  the  Portuguese.  Soon 
after  the  departure  of  Du  Pont  and  the  other 
Protestant  leaders  for  Europe,  the  commander 
himself  returned  to  France,  where  he  at  once 
avowed  himself  a  zealous  champion  of  the 
Church  of  Rome.'  It  was  noticed  that  this 
change  of  faith  coincided  with  Coligny's  impris- 
onment by  the  Spaniards  after  the  defeat  of  St. 
Ouentin.  The  powerful  patron  upon  whose  help 
he  had  depended  for  the  carrying  out  of  his  am- 
bitious plans,  was  now  in  captivity ;  and  Ville- 
gagnon  sought  a  new  master.'' 

'  There  seems  to  be  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  Ville- 
gagnon's duplicity.  That  he  professed  to  favor  the  Reformed 
doctrines,  the  accounts  given  by  De  Lery,  Lescarbot,  Theo- 
dore de  Beze,  and  Agrippa  d'Aubign^,  and  his  own  letter 
to  Calvin  (see  the  appendix  to  this  volume,)  abundantly 
prove.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman  Catholic  writers 
make  no  mention  of  a  departure  from  the  Roman  faith  : 
and  he  ajipears  upon  his  return  to  France  only  as  a 
vehement  foe  of  Protestantism,  using  both  sword  and  pen. 
against  its  adherents.  If  Claude  Haton  is  to  be  credited, 
Villegagnon  carried  with  him  to  Brazil  all  the  requisites  for 
the  celebration  of  the  Mass  ("  ornemens  d'eglise  pour  dire 
la  messe." — Memoires,  I.,  38.)  An  estimate  of  his  character 
would  be  incomplete,  however,  that  should  not  take  into 
account,  together  with  his  insincerity,  his  eccentricities  of 
conduct  while  in  Brazil,  indicating  apparently  some  degree 
of  mental  aberration. 

"Villegagnon  died  January  15,  157 1.  He  was  a  native 
of  Provins,  in  Champagne.  His  fellow-townsman,  Claude 
Haton,  eulogizes  him  as  a  valiant  servant  of  the  king,  and 
defender  of  the  Church,  "  ennemy  capital  "  of  the  heretical 
Huguenots,  whom  he  opposed  to  his  utmost  with  temporal 
and  spiritual  arms.     "  II  a  faict  plusieurs  beaux  livres  latins 


Introd. 
1567- 


Anflfost 
27,1667. 


'i;| 


i 


' 


ISi 


*      i 


i  i  11 


'il 


*] 


-V'f       , 

i 

1 

'                    i 

1 

s 

A 

i-*^ 

j| 

■' '    1 

1 

Hi—- 

I 
■    1      ,.         i 

i 

mm 


\V 


I  . 


56   ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  BRAZIL. 

introd.  Early  in  the  year  1560,  a  Portuguese  fleet 
1560.  arrived  at  Rio  de  Janeiro.  The  little  garri- 
son which  Villegagnon  had  left  in  charge  of 
Fort  Coligny  was  overpowered  after  a  brave 
resistance.  Some  of  the  occupants  escaped  to 
the  main  land,  where  they  sought  refuge  among 
the  savages  ;  others  were  mercilessly  butchered  ; 
and  soon  every  trace  of  the  French  occupation 
disappeared  from  the  island. 

Coligny's  first  experiment  in  colonization  had 
failed,  and  the  hopes  that  had  been  awakened 
throughout  Protestant  France,  of  a  place  of 
refuge  from  religious  oppression  in  the  New 
Coligny  World,  lay  prostrate.  But  Coligny  himself  was 
couraged.  not  one  to  be  discouraged  by  failure.  There  was 
much  to  account  for  the  ill  success  of  the  expe- 
dition to  Brazil,  especially  in  the  character  and 
conduct  of  its  chief  ;  but  for  whose  faithlessness 
or  imbecility,  it  must  have  seemed  then  as  it  has 
seemed  since,  a  French  colony  might  have  flour- 
ished at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  the  dream  of  an 
"  Antarctic  France  "  might  have  been  realized. 
Such  a  settlement  would  have  speedily  re- 
ceived large  accessions,  and  would  have  found 
itself  strong  enough  to  hold  its  ground  against 
the  enemy.  Indeed,  when  the  news  of  Ville- 
gagnon's  treachery  reached  Europe,  a  company 
of  emigrants,    numbering  seven  or  eight  hund- 


et  franfoys,  pour  confuter  la  faulse  oppinion  de  son  com- 
paignon  d'escolle,  Jehan  Calvin,  de  Genefve,  et  autres  pr^di- 
cans  de  la  faulse  oppinion  luth^rienne  et  huguenoticque." 
(Memoires  de  Claude  Haton,  publics  par  M.  Felix  Bourque- 
lot.  Paris,  1857.     Tome  IL,  p.  623.) 


A  FAVORABLE   JUNCTURE, 


57 


red,  was  preparing  to    join  the  colony  ;  and  it    introd. 
was  estimated  by  Jean  de  Lery,  that  ten  thou-     1562. 
sand  French  Protestants  would  soon  have  crossed 
the  ocean  to  Brazil.' 

The  baseness  of  one  man  had  ruined  the 
scheme  which  promised  so  much  for  France  and 
for  America.  But  there  were  others  in  the  Prot- 
estant ranks,  tried  and  trusted  leaders,  who 
stood  ready  for  a  second  venture,  upon  Coligny's 
bidding  ;  and  the  harbors  of  Bretagne  and  Nor- 
mandy swarmed  with  men  as  ready  to  follow. 
The  times  also,  if  not  brighter,  were  more  op- 
portune. The  Ihigucnots,  as  they  now  began  to 
be  called,  had  become  a  recognized  power  in  the 
land  ;  with  two  princes  of  the  blood — Antoine, 
king  of  Navarre,  and  his  brother,  Louis,  prince 
of  Conde — at  their  head.  There  was  a  lull  in 
the  storm  of  persecution.  Nearly  thirty-seven 
years  had  passed  since  Jean  Leclerc,  the  first  con- 
picuous  martyr  of  the  Reformation  in  France, 


'  "  Car  quoy  qu'  aucuns  disent,  veu  le  pen  de  temps  que 
ces  choses  ont  dure,  &  que  n'y  estoit  a  present  non  plus 
de  nouvelle  de  vraye  Religion  que  de  nom  de  Francois  pour 
y  habiter,  qu'on  n'en  doit  faire  estinie  :  nonobstant  telles 
allegations,  ce  que  j'ay  dit  ne  laisse  pas  de  demeurer  tou- 
siours  tellement  vray,  que  tout  ainsi  que  I'Evangile  du  fils  de 
Dieu  a  este  de  nos  jours  annonce  en  ceste  quarte  partie  du 
monde  dite  Amerique,  aussi  est-il  tres  certain  si  1'  affaire 
east  este  aussi  bien  poursuivi  qu'il  avoit  este  heureusement 
commence,  que  1'  un  &  1'  autre  Regne  spirituel  &  temporel, 
y  avoyent  si  bien  prins  pied  de  nostre  temps,  que  plus  de 
dix  mille  personnes  de  la  nation  Frangoise  y  seroient  main- 
tenant  en  aussi  plein  &  seure  possession  pour  nostre  Roy, 
que  les  Espagnols  y  sont  au  nom  de  leurs." — Histoire  d'  un 
Voyage  fait  en  la  Terre  du  Bresil.     P.  2. 


Hi- 


P    i  f 


iili! 


i' 


it!,. 


u  I 


Edict 

of  Jnly, 

1561. 


58     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :  FLORIDA. 

introd.  had  been  burned  at  Metz  ;  and  each  inter- 
1525.  vening  year  had  witnessed  the  sufferings,  in 
July  22.  every  part  of  the  kingdom,  of  those  who  had 
been  tried,  condemned,  and  sentenced  to  the 
prison,  the  torture  or  the  stake,  for  the  crime  of 
heresy.  Edict  after  edict  of  the  government 
had  pronounced  the  penalties  of  imprisonment, 
confiscation  of  goods,  and  death,  upon  the  fol- 
lowers of  Luther  and  Calvin,  and  while  enforc- 
ing persecution  under  the  forms  of  law,  had  en- 
couraged the  countless  deeds  of  violence  which 
a  lawless  populace  stood  always  ready  to  perpe- 
trate. The  latest  of  these  edicts  was  the  most 
severe  and  sweeping.  It  inflicted  punishment 
by  imprisonment  and  confiscation  upon  all  who, 
whether  armed  or  unarmed,  should  attend 
any  heretical  service  of  worship,  public  or  pri- 
vate. The  passage  of  this  law  intensified  the 
feelings  of  hostility,  which  were  soon  to  break 
out  into  open  strife,  between  the  two  great  re- 
ligious parties.  While  the  Romanists  exulted, 
the  Protestants  did  not  conceal  their  indiofnation. 
Even  Coligny,  pacific,  and  anxious  to  avert  the 
impending  calamity  of  civil  war,  declared  plainly 
that  the  "  Edict  of  July,"  as  it  was  called,  could 
never  be  carried  into  effect.  But  meanwhile, 
as  the  strength  of  the  Protestant  party  grew 
more  apparent,  and  its  position  more  menacing, 
the  necessity  of  conciliation  became  obvious  to 
the  court.  Catharine  de  Medici,  now  regent  of 
the  kingdom  during  the  minority  of  her  son 
Charles  IX.,  turned  to  Coligny  for  advice. 
The    Admiral     counseled    toleration ;    and    to 


THE  "NEW  RELIGION"  RECOGNIZED.      59 

show  the  expediency  of  toleration,  he  presented 
to  Catharine  a  list  of  the  Protestant  churches  of 
France,  already  numbering  two  thousand  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  that  asked  for  freedom  and 
protection  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion.  His 
advice  was  heeded  ;  and  the  "  Edict  of  July " 
was  followed,  six  months  later,  by  the  "  Edict  of 
January,"  1562.  It  was  now  that  for  the  first 
time  the  existence  of  "the  new  religion  "  became 
recognized  in  France  as  legal,  and  as  claiming 
some  degree  of  protection  under  the  laws.  The 
penalties  previously  pronounced  on  its  adherents 
were  provisionally  repealed,  until  a  general  Coun- 
cil of  the  Church  could  be  called  for  the  settle- 
ment of  all  questions  of  religious  faith.  Prot- 
estants throughout  the  kingdom  were  to  be  ex- 
empt from  all  molestation,  while  proceeding  on 
their  way  to  their  religious  assemblies  and  in 
returning  from  them  ;  and  the  presence  of  an 
officer  of  the  government  at  every  ecclesiastical 
meeting  gave  dignity  and  legality  to  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Protestant  consistories,  collo- 
quies, and  synods. 

Such  was  the  favorable  juncture  which  Coligny 
chose  for  a  second  effort  to  accomplish  his  cher- 
ished plan  of  American  colonization.  Little  did 
the  sagacious  statesman  and  chieftain  dream 
that  the  year  which  was  opening  so  auspiciously 
would  prove  one  of  the  darkest  in  the  history  of 
France  !  Six  weeks  from  the  date  of  the  promul- 
gation of  the  Edict  of  January,  the  massacre  at 
Vassy  precipitated  the  outbreak  of  the  First  Civil 
War ;  and  for  the  next  ten  months  the  kingdom 


Introd. 
1561. 


Edict  of 

January, 

1662. 


CivU 
war  im- 
pending. 


i 


J 


i    ! 


t 

i 


6o    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  FLORIDA. 


I  i 


tl-i 


^!ill 


[ 


!.iiii;  i 


li 


ill 


introd.    was  a  scene  of  horrible  massacre  and  devasta- 

1562.     tion. 

All  this  was  happily  unforeseen  by  the  brave 
men  who  set  sail  from    the  port  of   Havre,  in 

February  Normandy,  on  the  eighteenth  day  of  February, 
1562,  for  the  coast  of  Florida.  At  their  head 
was  Jean  Ribaut,  an  experienced  officer  of  the 
Reformed  party,  whom  Coligny  had  chosen  to 
lead  them.  Preparations  for  the  expedition  had 
been  going  on  for  some  months  in  that  harbor, 
of  which  the  Admiral  had  lately  been  appointed 

The  Expe-  ofovernor ;  and  a  cfoodly  number  of  volunteers 

dition.      f,  ,     ,       ^     ,      ■'  .       .        .  ... 

had  responded  to  the  mvitation  to  jom  it. 
Nearly  all  the  soldiers  and  laborers,  as  well  as  a 
few  noblemen  who  presented  themselves,  were 
Calvinists.  The  only  names  that  have  come 
down  to  us  are  those  of  Rene  de  Laudonniere, 
Nicolas  Barre,  Nicolas  Mallon,  Fiquinville, 
Sale,  Albert,  Lacaille,  the  drummer  Guernache, 
and  the  soldiers  Lachere,  Aymon,  Rouffi,  and 
Martin  Atinas.  The  first  of  these,  Rene  de 
Laudonniere,  was  no  ordinary  man.  An  experi- 
enced navigator,  and  a  man  of  tried  integrity, 
he  enjoyed  the  full  confidence  of  Coligny,  whom 
he  greatly  resembled  in  character.  Nicolas 
Barre  had  accompanied  Villegagnon  in  the  ex- 
pedition to  Brazil.  Others  of  the  party  were 
veteran  seamen,  and  were  familiar  with  the  re- 
gion about  to  be  visited. 

To  avoid  the  Spaniards,   P'        ^  "^   ok  a  more 
direct  course  across  tb      Vlj  ^         hat  which 

was  usually  followc  ast  day  of 

April  his  little  f\i         jmpo        oi    two  staunch 


lii 


THE  RIVER  OF  MAY. 


6l 


May  1. 


but  unwieldy  ships,  arrived  off  the  coast  of  introd 
Florida.  Proceeding  northward  along  the  coast,  1^2. 
they  found  themselves  the  next  day  at  the  month 
of  a  large  river,  which  they  named  the  River  of 
May — now  the  St.  John's.  Here  they  landed  ; 
and  the  first  impulse  of  the  Huguenots  was  to 
kneel  down  upon  the  shore,  in  thanksgiving  to 
God,  and  in  prayer  that  he  would  bless  their 
enterprise,  and  that  he  would  bring  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Saviour  the  heathen  inhabitants  of 
this  new  world.  Their  actions  were  watched 
with  wonder  by  a  company  of  the  friendly  na- 
tives, who  had  gathered  fearlessly  around  them 
and  who  sat  motionless  during  the  strange  cere- 
monial. After  this,  Ribaut  took  formal  pos- 
session of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the  King 
of  France,  and  set  up  a  pillar  of  stone,  engraven 
with  the  royal  arms,  upon  a  small  elevation  in  a 
grove  of  cypress  and  palm  trees  near  the  harbor. 
Returning  to  their  ships,  the  French  continued 
the  exploration  of  the  coast,  until  they  reached  a 
broad  estuary  to  which  they  gave  a  name  which 
it  has  retained  to  the  present  day.  It  was  the 
channel  of  Port  Royal.  The  voyagers  had 
passed  the  northern  limit  of  Florida,  as  it  was 
to  be  defined  in  later  days,  and,  leaving  untried 
the  shallow  inlets  along  the  sandy  shore  of 
Georgia,  found  themselves  off  the  coast  of 
South  Carolina.  Entering  the  harbor,  "  one  of 
the  largest  and  fairest  of  the  greatest  havens  of 
the  world,"  Ribaut  decided  here  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  a  colony.  The  site  of  a  fort  was 
chosen,  not  far  from  the  present  town  of  Beau- 


Port 
BoyaL 


;'ii 


mm 


i     1 ! 


-I' 


'■U 


mm 


62     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :  FLORIDA. 


war, 


1*1 


i 


introd.    fort.      It  was  called  Charlcsfort,  in  honor  of  the 
1562.     boy-king  who  had  lately  come  to  the  throne  of 
France.     Ribaut  did  not  wait  to  see  the  work 
completed.      His  present  voyage  was  one  of  ex- 
ploration   chiefly.      Report    of    the    discoveries 
made  and  the  enterprise  begun  must  be  carried 
to  the  king  ;  and  larger  supplies  of  men  and  of 
means  for  the  establishment  of  the  colony  must 
be   secured.      Leaving,  therefore,  a  few   of  his 
followers  to  garrison  the  little  fort,  Ribaut,  with 
Laudonniere  and  the  others,  set  sail  for  Europe, 
and  arrived  in  Dieppe  on   the  twentieth  day  of 
July,  only  five  months  from  the  time  of  their 
embarkation. 
Oatbreak       Meanwhile,   however,    civil    war  had  broken 
first  civil  out  in  France.     The  unprovoked  attack  of  the 
Euke  of  Guise  upon  an  assembly  of  Protestants, 
met  for  worship  in  one  of  the  towns  of  Cham- 
pagne, and  the  slaughter  of  fifty  or  sixty  inof- 
fensive persons  in  cold   blood,  had   stirred  the 
long  suffeiing  Huguenots  as  none  of   the  many 
preceding   outrages    inflicted     upon    them    had 
done.     For  the  first  time,  they  took  up  arms  in 
good  earnest  to  defend  their  civil  and   religious 
rights.    The  Protestant  nobility  of  the  kingdom 
gathered  around  the  Prince  of  Conde,  their  rec- 
ognized leader.  CoHgny  himself,  whose  cautious 
and  patriotic  spirit  shrank  from  the   prospect  of 
a  civil  conflict,    at    length    decided    to   join   his 
brethren  in  the  field.      The  moment  was  unfav- 
orable, in  which  to  plead  for  re-enforcements  in 
behalf  of  a  distant  colony.    Failing  in  his  efforts 
to  do  this,  or  swept   against   his   will    into  the 


T 


FATE  OF  CHARLESFORT 


63 


current  of  political  excitement  at  home,  Ribaut    introd 
entered  the  Protestant  ranks  under  his  old  leader     1563. 
the   Admiral,  and   the  next  year,   upon   the  re- 
turn of  peace,   took    refuge,  for   some    reason, 
in  England. 

The  handful  of  men  left  in  possession  of  the 
fort  near  Port  Royal,  met  a  miserable  fate.  Un- 
disciplined and  improvident,  they  soon  fell  into 
disputes  among  themselves,  murdered  their 
captain,  Albert,  whom  Ribaut  had  placed  in 
command,  consumed  all  the  supplies  they  had 
brought  with  them,  and  after  subsisting  for 
awhile  upon  the  charity  of  their  generous  savage 
neighbors,  set  themselves  in  their  desperation  to 
build  a  boat,  upon  which,  after  incredible  suffer- 
ings, they  succeeded  in  reaching  Europe. 

Coligny  was  still   ignorant  of   this  wretched  Second  ex 

..,/,.  ,  1  I-   1  1      pedition. 

failure  01  his  second  attempt  to  establish  a  col- 
ony in  America,  when  the  peace  of  Amboise 
brought  the  first  civil  war  to  a  close,  and  set 
him  free  to  resume  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  com- 
merce and  colonization.  Representing  to  the 
king  that  no  tidings  had  yet  arrived  from  the 
men  whom  Ribaut  had  left  in  Florida,  he  ob- 
tained permission  to  fit  out  three  ships,  of  sixty, 
one  hundred,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons 
respectively,  to  go  in  search  of  them,  and  to 
bring  them  relief.  Rene  de  Laudonniere  was 
chosen  as  chief  of  the  new  expedition,  and  a 
number  of  noblemen,  and  of  experienced  officers 
and  sailors,  volunteered  to  join  it.  Among  the 
noblemen  were  d'Ottigny,  d'Erlach,  officers, 
and  de  la  Rocheferri^re,  de  Marillac,  dc  Gron- 


m 


\ 


Y< : 


t 


li: 


(  1! 


if: 


■It 


64     ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  FLORIDA 


Introd. 

»564- 


1; 


LA  CAROLINE. 


65 


taut,  and  Normans  de  Pompierre,  who  went  introd. 
as  volunteers.  Michel  Vasseur  commanded  one  1564. 
of  the  ships — the  "  Breton  ;  "  Jean  Lucas  com- 
manded the  "  Elisabeth,"  and  Pierre  Marchant 
the  "  Faucon."  Nicolas  Vasseur  and  Trenchant 
were  pilots  ;  sergeant  Lacaille  was  interpreter, 
Jean  Dehaies,  carpenter,  and  Hance,  artificer. 
Among  the  seamen  were  Pierre  Gamble,  La 
Roquette,  Le  Gendre,  Martin  Chauveau,  Ber- 
trand,  Sanferrent,  La  Croix,  Estienne  Gondeau, 
Grandpre,  Nicholas  Lemaistre,  Doublet,  Four- 
neaux,  Estienne  de  Genes,  Jacques  Sale,  Le 
Mesureur,  Barthelemy,  Aymon,  LaCrete,  Grand- 
chemin,  Pierre  Debray,  and  three  brothers  of 
sergeant  Lacaille.  The  expedition  was  accom- 
panied by  a  draughtsman,  Jacques  Lemoyne  de 
Mourgues. 

The  adventurers  sailed  from  Havre  in  April,  April  28. 
1564.  A  voyage  of  no  more  than  the  usual 
length  brought  them  to  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
John's,  where  Ribaut  had  first  set  up  the  arms  of 
France.  Following  the  course  of  the  river  for  a 
short  distance,  Laudonnicre  chose  a  spot,  six 
miles  from  the  sea,  as  the  site  of  a  projected 
town,  and  at  once  began  the  building  of  a  fort 
which  he  named  La  Caroline.  The  locality  is 
now  known  as  St.  John's  Blufif.'     The  Hugue- 

'  "  The  river  St.  John's  ...  is  more  like  an  arm  of  the 
sea  than  a  river  ;  from  its  mouth  for  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles,  it  is  spread  over  extensive  marshes,  and  there  are  few 
jjoints  where  the  channel  touches  the  banks  of  the  river.  At 
its  mouth  it  is  comparatively  narrow,  but  immediately  ex- 
tends itself  over  wide-spread  marshes  ;  and  the  first  head- 
land or  shore  which  is  washed  by  the  channel  is  a  place 


I 


I  5  li 


I  4 


J; 

{,■1 

;  , 

i  ■'  !■■ 

1 

1  hIHI 

66  ATTEMPTED   SETTLEMENTS  :    FLORIDA. 


Introd. 

1564. 
July  1. 


nots  after  their  pious  usage  inaugurated  the 
work  with  their  simple  and  hearty  worship. 
"  There,"  in  the  language  of  the  commander 
himself,  "  we  sang  praises  to  the  Lord,  beseech- 
ing Him  that  of  His  holy  grace  He  would  be 
pleased  to  continue  His  accustomed  goodness  to 
us,  and  henceforth  help  us  in  all  our  undertak- 
ings, in  such  wise  that  the  whole  might  redound 
to  His  glory,  and  to  the  furtherance  of  our 
faith.  Prayers  ended,  each  one  began  to  take 
courage." 

But  the  brief  history  of  this  expedition  was  to 
be  one  of  disappointment  and  disaster  through- 
out. Not  fourteen  months  from  the  day  when 
Laudonniere  landed  upon  the  bank  of  St.  John's 
river,  full  of  hope  and  courage,  the  spot  thus 
consecrated  with  prayer  and  praise  was  red- 
dened by  the  blood  of  his  followers  ;  and  another 
of   Coligny's    experiments  of    colonization    ter- 


known  as  St.  John's  Bluff.  Here  the  river  runs  closely  by 
the  shore,  making  a  bold,  deep  channel  close  up  to  the  bank. 
The  land  rises  abruptly  on  one  side  into  a  hill  of  moderate 
height,  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  pine,  cedar,  etc. 
This  hill  gently  slopes  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  runs  off 
to  the  southwest,  where,  at  a  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
a  creek  discharges  itself  into  the  river,  at  a  place  called  "the 
shipyard  "  from  time  immemorial.  I  am  not  aware  that  any 
remains  of  Fort  Caroline,  or  any  old  remains  of  a  fortress, 
have  ever  been  discovered  here  ;  but  it  must  be  recollected 
that  this  fort  was  constructed  of  sand  and  pine  trees,  and 
that  three  hundred  years  have  passed  away — a  period  suffi- 
cient to  have  destroyed  a  work  of  much  more  durable  char- 
acter. Moreover,  it  is  highly  probable,  judging  from  present 
appearances,  that  the  constant  abrasion  of  the  banks,  still 
going  on,  has  long  since  worn  away  the  narrow  spot  where 
stood  Fort  Caroline." — History  and  Antiquities  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, Florida,  by  George  R.  Fairbanks,  M.  A.  Pp.  26,  27. 


\'\ 


FORMER  MI  JTAKES  REPEATED. 


67 


1565- 


nesB. 


minated  in  a  horrible  massacre.  The  events  of  introd. 
that  hapless  year  have  been  related  with  particu- 
larity by  the  chroniclers  of  the  time,  and  by  later 
writers.  Sufifice  it  to  say  here,  that  the  French 
re-enacted  the  mistakes  and  the  misfortunes  of 
previous  undertakings.  They  neglected  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil,  yielded  to  the  seductions 
of  gold,  and  fell  out  among  themselves.  Their 
policy  toward  the  natives  was  injudicious. 
Finding  the  savage  tribes  of  the  interior  at  war, 
and  anxious  to  secure  the  white  man's  help, 
Laudonni^re  at  first  endeavored  to  maintain  a 
strict  neutrality  ;  but  he  soon  suffered  himself  to 
be  drawn  into  alliances  that  proved  disastrous. 
As  a  leader,   he  showed  a  deplorable  lack  of  Theiead- 

r  T         y       J'       I.'  1  •  er's  weak* 

firmness.  Insubordmation  and  conspiracy  were 
too  easily  pardoned.  The  young  nobles,  who 
had  accompanied  the  expedition  in  the  hope 
that  they  might  enrich  themselves  from  the  far- 
famed  treasures  of  the  new  world,  were  soured 
and  angered  by  their  failure  to  discover  gold  in 
Florida.  They  could  not  stoop  to  work  for 
their  bread,  and  they  took  it  ill  when  required 
to  do  their  part  in  the  labors  of  fortification. 
The  Protestants,  who  composed  the  majority  of 
the  expedition,  complained  of  the  indifference  of 
their  leader  to  religion.  No  Huguenot  pastor 
had  joined  the  colony ;  and  those  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  religious  ministrations  in  the 
camp,  as  well  as  at  home,  declared  openly  that 
they  would  take  the  very  first  opportunity  to 
leave.  But  the  direst  calamity  that  befell  the  ill- 
planned  enterprise,  was  famine.     By  the  second 


'SH'-'f-'J"-^''^ 


Introd. 
1565- 


ir 


Fsalm- 


'il    < 


68    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :   FLORIDA. 

summer,  scarcity  prevailed  at  La  Caroline.  No 
crops  had  been  planted  in  the  rich  soil  of  the 
surrounding-  lands,  and  though  the  river  teemed 
with  fish,  the  colonists  depended  on  their  savage 
neighbors  for  the  food  which  they  would  not 
condescend  to  obtain  for  themselves. 

From  this  record  of  mistakes  and  calamitous 
errors,  it  is  pleasant  to  turn  for  a  moment  to 
some  redeeming  facts  in  the  story  of  the  French 
in  Florida.  Unlike  the  Spaniards,  they  treated 
the  savage  inhabitants  of  the  country  with  much 
gentleness  ;  and  their  brief  occupation  left  no 
such  memories  of  cruelty  as  the  earlier  visits  of 

singingr  in  . 

Florida,  the  Spanish  adventurers  had  left.  The  simple- 
minded  children  of  the  forest  were  greatly  im- 
pressed with  the  habitual  gayety  and  good  na- 
ture of  the  French,  and  they  were  especially 
captivated  by  the  sonorous  singing  in  which  the 
Huguenots  perpetually  indulged.  Long  after 
the  breaking  up  of  Laudonni^re's  colony,  the 
European,  cruising  along  the  coast,  or  landing 
upon  the  shore,  would  be  saluted  with  some 
snatch  of  a  French  psalm  uncouthly  rendered  by 
Indian  voices,  in  strains  caught  from  the  Calvin- 
ist  soldier  on  patrol,  or  from  the  boatman  ply- 
ing his  oar  on  the  river.'  No  fierce  imprecation 
or  profane  expletive  lingered  in  the  recollection 
of  the  red  men,  as  the  synonym  for  a  French 
Protestant. 


'  Le  Challeux,  who  states  this,  gives  the  words  "  JDu 
fond  de  ma  pens^e"  and  "  Bienheureux  est  quiconque  sert  ^ 
Dieu  volontiers"  as  frequently  used  by  the  Indians  in  this 
manner. 


V     !    It 


U 


SIR  JOHN  HAWKINS. 


69 


August 


Laudonniere  at  length  reluctantly  decided  to  introd. 
abandon  the  expedition,  and  return  to  Europe.  1565. 
Of  the  three  small  and  frail  vessels  which  had 
brought  his  followers  over,  only  one  remained 
that  could  be  made  sea-worthy.  By  the  first 
days  of  August,  the  carpenters  had  completed 
their  work  ;  and  the  French  were  making  ready 
for  departure,  when  a  fleet  appeared  off  the 
mouth  of  the  St.  John's.  The  four  ships  of 
which  it  was  composed  were  commanded  by  the 
famous  English  navigator  John  Hawkins.  His 
coming  was  friendly  ;  he  willingly  relieved  from 
his  naval  stores  the  most  pressing  necessities  of 
the  French,  and  he  offered  to  transport  them  all 
to  France.  Laudonniere  declined  this  offer,  but 
availed  himself  of  the  Englishman's  kindness  by 
purchasing  one  of  his  ships  at  a  nominal  price. 
Scarcely  had  this  visitor  disappeared,  when  an- 
other fleet  was  seen  in  the  offing.  Its  admiral 
was  Jean  Ribaut,  the  leader  of  the  former  expe- 
dition. 

Reports  unfavorable  to  the  character  of  Lau- 
donniere had  reached  France.  Coligny  decided 
to  recall  him,  and  at  the  same  time  to  send  a 
much  larger  force  for  the  occupation  of  Florida. 
Seven  ships,  some  of  them  of  considerable  size, 
were  fitted  out  for  this  purpose.  They  carried 
not  far  from  one  thousand  men.  A  number  of 
Huguenot  gentlemen  joined  the  expedition  as 
volunteers.  Among  them  were  the  sieurs  de  la 
Blonderie,  d'Ully,  de  Beauchaire,  de  Lagrange, 
de  San  Marain,  du  Vest,  de  Jonville.  Of  the 
officers,  the  names  of  Jacques  Ribaut,  Maillard, 


» i  t 


August 
27. 


!         m 


i»  li, 


Ilii  IP 


,1 1^ 


Introd. 
1565- 


1  li! 


Third  ex- 
pedition. 


If 


70    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS:  FLORIDA. 

de  Machonville,  Jean  Dubois,  Valuot,  Cosette, 
Louis  Ballaud,  Nicolas  Verdier,  de  Saint-Clerk, 
de  la  Vigne,  Du  Lys,  and  Le  Beau  have  come 
down  to  us.  Among  the  artisans,  seamen 
and  soldiers,  were  Nicolas  le  Challeux,  of 
Dieppe,  Nicaise  de  la  Crotte,  Francois  Duval, 
Elie  Desplanques,  Jacques  Tauze,  Christophe 
Lebreton,  Drouet,  Jacques  Dulac,  Masselin, 
Jehan  Mennin,  Gros,  Bellot,  Martin,  Pierre 
Rennat,  Jacques,  Vincent  Simon,  and  Michel 
Gonnor.  This  time,  the  religious  wants  of  the 
adventurers  were  not  forgotten.  At  least  one 
clergyman,'  Robert  by  name,  accompanied  them. 
The  minister  had  an  efficient  helper  in  Le  Chal- 
leux, the  ship-carpenter,  a  man  of  advanced 
years,  and  well  versed  in  Holy  Scripture." 

Jean  Ribaut  was  called  home  from  England 
to  command  this  fleet,  which  sailed  from  the 
harbor  of  Dieppe,  in  the  latter  part  of  May,  and 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  St.  John's  river  on  the 
twenty-seventh  of  August.  The  larger  ships 
remained  at  anchor,  while  Ribaut  with  three 
smaller  vessels  sailed  up  the  river  to  La  Caro- 
line. Laudonni^re,  summoned  on  board  the 
flag-ship,  was  soon  able  to  clear  himself  from 
the  charges  which  Ribaut  brought  to  his  notice, 
and  the  old  associates  were  friends  once  more. 


'  Gaffarel  intimates  that  more  than  one  minister  was 
sent. — Histoire  de  la  Floride  fran9aise,  par  Paul  Gaffard. 
P.  195.  "  Maitre  Robert,  qui  avoit  charge  de  fairo  les 
prieres,"  is  the  only  one  mentioned  by  Le  Challeux. 

"  A  graphic  account  of  the  expedition  from  the  pen  of 
this  pious  Huguenot  has  been  preserved. 


Ill 


\,  '.  .i»4 


A  COMMON  DANGER. 


71 


But  a  common  danger  was  now  to  cement  their    introd. 
fortunes.     Five  days  after  Ribaut's  arrival,  tid-     1565- 
ings  were  signaled  from  the  coast  that  another  September 
fleet  had  come  in  sight.    It  was  late  in  the  after- 
noon ;    a   heavy    fog   was    just   lifting,    and    in 
the   dusk   the    sentinels   at    the    mouth    of  the 
river  could    not  distinguish    the    nationality  of 
the  ships.     The  night  of  the  third  of  Septem- 
ber wore  away  anxiously  at  La  Caroline.     But 
with  the  dawn  of  the  following  day  all  uncertainty 
vanished.       Ribaut's    larger   vessels   were    now 
seen   to  have   left  their  anchorage,  and    to   be 
making  for  the  open  sea.    They  had  descried  the 
approaching  fleet,  and  recognized  a  dreaded  foe. 
The  Spaniards  had  come.      Spain  and   France      The 
were  for  the  time  at  peace.      But  Spain  had  al-  ^p*''*"^^' 
ways  denied  the  right  of    France   in  the  New 
World.     Florida  belonged  to  Spain  by  virtue  of 
discovery ;  and  though  the  Spaniards  had  been 
unsuccessful    heretofore    in    their    attempts    to 
conquer  the  country,  they  did  not   propose  to 
surrender  their  claim  to  a  rival  power.     Least 
of  all  would  they  permit  the  hated  Huguenot 
to   establish    himself    up'~n    those    shores.     No 
sooner  did  Philip  the  Second  learn  that  such  an  jj^p^jj  22. 
attempt  had  actually  been  made,  than  he  com- 
missioned one  of  his  bravest  and  most  resolute 
captains    to    dislodge  the    audacious    intruder. 
Pedro  Menendez  de  Abila  had  now  come  with  a 
strong  force   to  execute  this  commission.     His 
fleet  consisted  of  some  fifteen  vessels,  several  of 
them    ships    of   large    tonnage.      They   carried 
twenty-six   hundred   men,   Spanish   and    Portu- 


V  > 


I  i  ! 


:;ii^' 


'& 


t 


I'll: 


72    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :  FLORIDA. 


Introd. 
1565- 


6. 


Mi  '^ 


'     i 


fl 


W§i 


guese,  the  latter  of  whom  were   to  distinguish 
themselves  by  their  demon-like  ferocity. 

Menendez  hoped  to  take  the  French  una- 
wares. Failing  in  this,  he  landed  his  men  at  a 
spot  thirty  miles  south  of  the  St.  John's,  near 
the  present  city  of  St.  Augustine.  Meanwhile 
the  French  at  La  Caroline  were  consulting  as  to 
the  course  to  be  pursued  in  view  of  this  sudden 
danger.  Laudonniere  was  for  strengthening  the 
(Jouncii  of  fort,  and  harassing  the  enemy  by  land,  in  a  se- 
tiepT&mber  nes  of  skimiishcs,  aided  by  the  friendly  savages. 
The  wisdom  of  this  policy  seemed  obvious  to 
all  the  members  of  the  council  of  war,  save  one. 
Ribaut  alone  insisted  upon  a  naval  engagement. 
His  plan  was  to  fall  upon  the  enemy's  ships,  and 
after  disarming  them,  attack  and  destroy  the 
forces  already  landed.  Remonstrances  and  ar- 
guments availed  nothing.  Laudonniere  was  no 
longer  in  command.  Had  his  advice  been  taken, 
"  Florida,"  says  the  enthusiastic  historian  of  La 
Floridc  Fraiifaise,  "  would  have  remained  a 
French  country." 

The  four  ships  which  had  taken  flight  upon 
the  approach  of  the  Spaniards,  now  re-appeared. 
Ribaut  ordered  all  his  soldiers  on  board,  to- 
gether with  as  many  of  Laudonniere's  men  as 
were  fit  for  service.  Only  those  who  had  been 
wounded  in  a  late  affray  with  one  of  the  Indian 
tribes  of  the  interior,  were  left  at  La  Caroline, 
with  their  late  commander,  himself  disabled  at 
the  time  by  illness. 

Heavy-hearted,  Laudonniere  saw  his  comrades 
sail  away.      His  fears  for  the  ill-judged  expedi- 


September 
10. 


t 


PEDRO  MENENUEZ  DE  ABILA. 


n 


tion  were  more  than  realized.  A  furious  storm 
soon  broke  upon  the  coast:  and  Ribaut's  ships, 
driven  southward,  far  beyond  the  spot  where 
Menendez  was  huiding  his  men,  were  miserably 
wrecked  on  the  dangerous  shore  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Cape  Canaveral. 


Introd. 
1565- 


.  '-s 


Tl 


<ii 


1 


Menendez  was  now  free  to  execute  the  work 
of  butchery  for  which  he  had  come  across  the  At- 
lantic. Leaving  the  bulk  of  his  little  army  at  September 
the  fort  which  he  had  built  and  named  St.  Au- 
gustine, he  took  five  hundred  picked  men  and 
set  out  for  La  Caroline.     Within  three  days  the 


16. 


14:;; 
,?f-  ■■'■■ 


20. 


!|1 


Bibaat 
surren- 
ders. 


1 


74    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :  FLORIDA. 

inttod.  French  fort  was  reached.'  Surprised  in  their 
1565-  slumbers,  the  sick  and  wounded,  as  well  as  the 
September  able-bodied,  were  put  to  the  sword.  Only  the 
women  and  children  were  spared.  Laudonniere 
and  a  few  others  fled.  Among  them  was  the  Hu- 
guenot minister  Robert.  After  many  hair- 
breadth escapes,  the  fugitives  reached  the  coast, 
and  were  taken  on  board  one  of  the  smaller 
ships  which  Ribaut  had  left  in  the  river.  It  was 
soon  joined  by  another  of  these  vessels,  and  the 
two,  though  poorly  fitted  for  the  long  voyage, 
succeeded  in  making  their  way  across  the 
ocean. 

A  far  more  wretched  fate  was  reserved  for 
Ribaut  and  his  shipwrecked  followers.  With 
great  difficulty,  they  made  their  way  northward 
through  forests  and  swamps  almost  impassable, 
till  they  came  in  view  of  La  Caroline,  only  to 
see  the  Spanish  flag  flying  from  its  wall.  Re- 
tracing their  steps,  they  found  themselves  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Spanish  force  at  fort  St. 
Augustine.  Ribaut  sent  one  of  his  officers  to 
ask  for  terms  of  surrender.  Menendez  informed 
the  Frenchman  of  the  slaughter  of  his  compan- 
ions at  La  Caroline.  Even  such,  he  coldly  as- 
sured him,  should  be  the  fate  of  every  man 
who  professed  the  Protestant  religion.  Menen- 
dez was  reminded  that  his  nation  was  still  at 
peace  with  France.  "  True,"  he  answered, 
"but  not  so  in  the  case  of  heretics,  with  whom  I 

'  It  was  occupied  by  some  two  hundred  and  forty  per- 
sons— invalid  soldiers,  artisans,  women  and  little  children. 
(Delaborde,  Coligny,  I.,  447,  note.) 


IJl 


il 


NO  TERMS  WITH  HERETICS. 


75 


shall  ever  carry  on  war  in  these  parts  :  and  I    introd. 
shall  do  it  with  all  possible  cruelty  toward  all     1565. 
of  that  sect,  wherever  I  shall  find  them,  whether   October, 
by   sea   or   by  land.     Yield   yourselves   to   my 
mercy,  give  up  your  arms  and  your  colors,  and  I 
will  do  as  God  may  prompt  me." 

We  shall  not  reproduce  here  the  sickening 
details  of  the  massacre  that  followed.  Ribaut 
announced  the  Spaniard's  decision  to  his  little 
army,  and  gave  it  as  his  own  opinion  that  there 
was  no  alternative  for  them  but  surrender.  Two 
hundred  rejected  the  proposal,  and  fled  into  the 
woods.  The  others — one  hundred  and  fifty  in 
number — hoping  against  hope,  threw  them- 
selves upon  the  compassion  of  one  to  whom  the  Butchery 
word  had  no  meaning.  The  French  accounts  gt.  Augus 
of  the  affair  represent  Menendez  as  resorting  to  ^^^' 
a  base  subterfuge  in  order  to  induce  them  to 
submit  without  a  struggle.  In  an  interview 
with  Ribaut's  messenger,  the  Spanish  comman- 
der caused  one  of  his  officers  to  personate  him. 
The  officer  made  the  most  solemn  promise  that 
the  lives  of  the  French  should  be  spared.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  all  the  authorities  agree  as  to 
the  fact  of  the  surrender,  and  the  wholesale  ex- 
ecution. Menendez  himself  announced  it  to  his 
government.  "  I  had  their  hands  tied  behind 
their  backs,"  he  wrote  to  the  king,  "  and  them- 
selves put  to  the  sword.  It  appeared  to  me 
that  by  thus  chastising  them,  God  our  Lord  and 
your  Majesty  were  served.  Whereby  in  future 
this  evil  sect  will  leave  us  more  free  to  plant  the 
Gospel  in  these  parts." 


iN^ 


.m^^fi 


k ;   1 

I  .v,.^ 

J    1 

i  ■  1  '■ 

w 

Hi' 

76    ATTEMPTED  SETTLEMENTS  :    FLORIDA. 

introd.  The  party  of  two  hundred  that  had  refused  to 
1565.  surrender  with  the  rest,  escaped  tlie  butcliery. 
Making-  their  way  back  to  the  place  of  their 
shipwreck,  near  Cape  Canaveral,  they  attempted 
to  construct  a  vessel  out  of  the  fraomcntsof  the 
broken  ships.  Menendez  pursued  them,  but 
finding  that  they  were  prepared  to  sell  their 
lives  dear,  he  entered  into  negotiations  with 
them,  and  engaged  to  treat  them  as  prisoners  of 
war.  Perhaps  satiated  for  the  time  with  human 
blood,  he  kept  the  promise,  until  word  came 
from  the  Spanish  king,  remanding  his  prisoners 
to  the  galleys. 

Thu  -  ends  the  story  of  the  Huguenot  expedi- 
tion to  Florida — in  carnage,  and  in  slavery  worse 
than  death. 

Upon  the  spot  where  many  of  his  unresisting 
victims  were  ignominiously  killed,  after  the  cap- 
ture of  La  Caroline,  Menendez  placed  a  tablet 
bearing  this  inscription  : 

"  Hun:T  not  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  Lutherans." 
1667.  Two  years  later,  a  gallant   French   officer  de- 

termined to  avenixe  the  slauf^hter  of  his  countrv- 
The  horrible  brutality  of  the  Spaniards 
had  awakened  general  indignation  in  France. 
The  French  court  had  loudly  complained  of  this 
outrage  committed  upon  its  subjects  in  a  time 
of  peace  between  the  two  nations.  Its  remon- 
strances, however,  made  no  impression  upon 
Philip  the  Second,  nor  was  any  redress  obtained 
for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  butchered 
Huguenots.  But  Dominicjue  de  Gourgues, 
though   not  of  the   Huguenot  faith,  could  not 


The  crime 
avenged.    ^^^^ 


I 

1 


DOMINIQUE  DE  GOURGUES. 


11 


1568. 


rest  while  the  blood  of  his  countrymen  cried  for    introd. 

vengeance.     Through  the  sale  of  his  little  pat-     ,^7. 

rimony,  and    by   the    help    of   his    brother,  he    August 

gathered  means  to  purchase    and    equip    three 

small  vessels.     After   a    perilous    voyage,     De 

Gourgues  reached  the  coast  of  Florida,  enlisted 

the  friendly  Indians  of  the  neighboring  region 

in    his    service,    and   falling  upon  La  Caroline, 

took   prisoners  the   Spanish  force  by  whom  it 

was  garrisoned.     The  greater  number  of  these 

he  put  to  the  sword.     The  remainder  he   hung  April  28. 

upon  the  trees  from  which   Menendez  had  hung 

his  French  captives  ;  and  upon  the  other  side  of 

the  tablet  which  the  Spaniard  had  placed  near 

by,  he  inscribed  these  words  : 

"  I  do  this  not  as  unto  Spaniards,  nor  as  unto 
seamen,  but  as  unto  traitors,  robbers,  and  mur- 
derers." 


r 


lit'.! . 
■  I  (III 


9,|  .  , 


i  i 


I?  'ff 


Hi 


:  M 


VCADIA 


PAUT    OF    CANADA 


SCALi:  OF  MILES 

•     '    ■    ■     I  MmhS 

80      8  4t  80 


1(11 


CHAPTER   I. 


Under  the    Edict. 


ACADIA   AND   CANADA. 


The  Edict  of  Nantes  was  signed  on  the  thir-  chap.i. 
teenth  day  of  April,  1598.  Never  were  the  jus-  jj^g. 
tice  and  expediency  of  a  political  measure  more  April  13. 
promptly  vindicated  by  its  effects.  The  publi- 
cation of  this  royal  decree  was  followed  by  the 
speedy  return  of  prosperity  to  France.  In  one 
day,  says  Benoist,  the  disasters  of  ^orty  years 
were  repaired.  The  civil  wars  had  left  the 
country  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Everywhere 
the  traces  of  the  long  struggle  were  to  be  seen,  in 
ruined  villages  and  dismantled  castles,  in  farnis 
laid  waste,  and  cities  impoverished.  Under  the 
Edict,  which  secured  to  the  Protestants  of 
France  the  enjoyment  of  their  civil  and  religious 
rights,  public  confidence  soon  revived,  and  trade 
and  manufactures  began  to  flourish. 

For  these  advantages,  the  kingdom  was  large-  sniiy's 
ly  indebted  to  the  statesmanship  of  the  great  mansSp. 
Sully.  It  was  the  good  fortune  of  Henry  the 
Fourth  to  have  for  his  trusty  counselor  a  man 
of  staunch  fidelity  and  of  far-sighted  wisdom. 
Sully  was  a  Protestant,  and,  unlike  his  master, 
remained  faithful   to   his  religious  convictions, 


8o 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :    ACADIA. 


Henry 

favors 

color  iza 

tion. 


Chap.  I.  through  all  the  changes  of  his  times.  In  admin- 
1598.  istering  the  affairs  of  the  country,  his  principal 
concern  was  for  the  development  of  its  inter- 
nal resources.  Bringing  a  rigid  economy  into 
all  the  departments  of  government,  he  rapidly 
reduced  the  enormous  debt  which  had  accumu- 
lated during  the  civil  wars  ;  whilst  at  the  same 
time  he  sought  to  encourage  agriculture  as  the 
most  assured  means  of  national  enrichment. 

Henry  shared  his  minister's  views  ;  but  he  had 
other  plans  also,  into  which  Sully  did  not  enter 
so  cordially.  The  king  favored  foreign  com- 
merce and  colonization.  It  was  his  ambition  to 
possess  a  powerful  navy  ;  to  promote  adventure 
and  discovery  and  trade  with  distant  parts  ;  and 
especially,  to  carry  out  the  scheme  which  had 
originated  with  Coligny,  his  early  teacher  and 
companion  in  arms,  for  the  establishment  of  a 
French  colony  in  America.  The  time  for  this 
great  undertaking  had  come  at  last ;  and  it  is 
to  Henry  the  Fourth  that  the  honor  belongs,  of 
having  founded  the  first  agricultural  colony  in 
the  New  World,  and  of  having  founded  it  upon 
principles  of  religious  equality  and  freedom.  • 

Already  for  a  hundred  years  the  banks  of 
Newfoundland  had  been  frequented  by  French 
fishermen.  From  the  harbors  of  Normandy  and 
Bretagne,  from  La  Rocnelle,  and  the  low  sandy 
islands  along  the  coast  between  the  Loire  and 
the  Gironde,  hardy  seamen  ventured  forth  an- 
nually across  the  Atlantic,  rivaling  the  English 
and  the  Spaniards  in  discovery  and  commercial 
enterprise.     Not   a   few   of  them  were  Protest. 


1504. 


I  i 


REFORMATION  IN  WESTERN  FRANCE.      8 1 


ants.  Many  of  the  ships  that  visited  the  fish- 
ing banks,  or  cruised  along  the  shores  of  the 
gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  were  owned  by  Hugue- 
not merchants,  and  manned  by  Huguenot  sail- 
ors, whose  loud  voices  were  often  heard,  in  port 
and  at  sea,  to  the  indignation  of  all  good  Catho- 
lics, as  they  joined  lustily  in  singing  Clement 
Marot's  psalms. 

The  Reformation  early  gained  a  foothold  in 
the  seaboard  provinces  of  western  France.  It 
was  about  the  year  1534,  that  two  of  Calvin's 
first  and  most  ardent  disciples'  entered  the 
province  of  Saintonge,  and  began  to  preach  the 
new  doctrines.  Their  success  was  marked,  es- 
pecially among  the  humbler  classes  of  the  pop- 
ulation. In  a  short  time,  nearly  every  village 
and  hamlet  had  been  reached.  These  mission- 
ary labors  were  aided  by  recruits  from  an  unex- 
pected quarter.  A  number  of  monks,  in  the 
central  part  of  France,  having  heard  of  Luther, 
left  their  monasteries,  and  crossed  the  frontier 
into  Germany,  to  hear  the  great  reformer  for 
themselves.  Upon  their  return  to  France,  they 
began  to  preach  boldly  against  the  abuses  of 
Rome  ;  but  soon,  incurring  the   displeasure  of 


Chap.  I. 

1598. 


Spread  of 

the  new 

doctrines, 


'  Philippe  V^ron,  called  "  le  Ramasseur,"  and  Albert 
Babinot,  were  of  the  number  of  those  who  came  under 
Calvin's  influence  during  his  stay  in  Poitiers  for  some 
months,  before  he  went  to  Geneva. — Histoire  des  Protest- 
ants et  des  ^glises  r^form^es  du  Poitou,  par  A.  Li^vre. 
Tome  I.,  p.  34. — Histoire  des  eglises  reformdes  de  Pons, 
Gemozac  et  Mortagne,  en  Saintonge,  par  A.  Crottet.  P.  10, 
seq. — Bulletin  de  la  Soci^t^  de  I'histoire  du  protestantisme 
fran^ais,  316  ann^e  (1882)  p.  6. 


ii 


82 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


Chap.  I. 

1540- 


1546. 
August. 


•it 


i  iM 


The  mass 
unsaid. 


the  clergy,  they  were  forced  to  scatter,  and  hide 
themselves  in  the  remoter  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. Several  of  these  monks  came  into  Sain- 
tonge,  and  took  refuge  among  the  rude  fisher- 
men and  seamen  who  inhabited  the  islands  of  Ole- 
ron,  Marennes,  and  Arvert.  Here,  cautiously  at 
first,  and  then  more  openly,  they  preached  their 
Lutheran  doctrines,  protected  by  a  dignitary  of 
the  Church  who  was  in  sympathy  with  the  Ref- 
ormation, and  finding  much  acceptance  with  the 
people.  The  persecution  that  soon  arrested  the 
labors  of  these  zealous  men,  several  of  whom 
were  burned  at  the  stake,  did  not  prevent  the 
spread  of  the  new  faith  in  Saintonge.  By  the 
middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  a  large  part  of 
the  population  of  this  province,  as  of  the  ad- 
joining provinces,  had  embraced  the  Protestant 
religion. 

So  rapid  and  so  thorough  was  the  change, 
that  at  the  time  when  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was 
published,  the  Roman  mass  had  not  been 
said  openly  at  La  Rochelle  for  nearly  forty 
years.  In  many  other  Huguenot  towns,  the  pub- 
lic exercises  of  the  Roman  Catholic  worship  had 
been  interrupted  almost  as  long  :  and  in  lower 
Normandy,  and  in  Henry's  native  province  of 
Beam,  it  had  been  formally  excluded, 

Protestant  and  Catholic  alike,  the  merchants 
and  seamen  of  western  France  were  now  look- 
ing with  keen  interest  toward  America  as  a  field 
of  commercial  adventure.  The  fisheries  and 
the  fur-trade,  pursued  hitherto  without  govern- 
ment aid,   by  companies  of  merchants  and  by 


■J^^p 


THE  HUGUENOTS  INSECURE. 


8- 


private  individuals,  had  proved  exceedingly  chap.  i. 
lucrative  ;  and  the  seaport  towns  of  Norman-  j^q,. 
dy,  Bretagne  and  Aunis  vied  with  one  anoth- 
er in  seeking  to  obtain  the  exclusive  control 
of  the  profitable  traffic.  There  were  reasons, 
however,  why  Protestants  especially  should  wel- 
come the  plan  of  colonization  in  the  New 
World.  They  were  by  no  means  free  from 
anxiety  as  to  their  condition  and  prospects  in 
France.  The  Edict  of  Nantes,  whilst  it  recog- 
nized and  "  irrevocably "  confirmed  their  civil 
and  religious  rights,  greatly  exasperated  their 
enemies.  The  clergy,  and  the  more  extreme 
among  the  Roman  Catholic  party,  were  bitterly  Need  of  a 
opposed  to  its  execution.  The  parliaments  long  flf^f^^^ 
refused  to  register  the  decree,  and  yielded  only 
to  the  express  command  of  the  king.  Henry 
himself  was  viewed  with  distrust  by  his  former 
fellow-religionists.  Whilst  protecting  them  in 
the  exercise  of  their  religion,  he  was  endeavor- 
ing to  weaken  them  as  a  political  party.  It  was 
known  that  the  Jesuits,  who  had  been  banished 
from  the  kingdom,  were  regaining  their  influence 
at  court.  The  day  might  come,  which  Coligny 
had  foreseen,  when  the  Protestants  of  France 
would  need  a  place  of  refuge  from  renewed  per- 
secution, and  a  country  where  they  and  their 
children  could  enjoy  freedom  of  conscience.  It 
was  by  considerations  like  these,  that  the  Prot- 
estant subjects  of  Henry  were  moved  to  fall 
in  heartily  with  his  plans  of  American  coloniza- 
tion. 

On  the  eighth  of  November,  1603,  a  commis- 


84 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :    ACADIA. 


Ifif 


Chap.  I.   sion  was  granted  to  a   Huguenot  gentleman  of 
1603.     Saintonge,  Pierre  du  Gua,   sieur  de  Monts,  au- 
_  thorizing  him  to  possess  and  settle  that  part  of 

November  North  America  lying  between  the  fortieth  and 
the  forty-sixth  degrees  of  north  latitude,  and 
granting  him  the  monopoly  of  trade  between 
Cape  Race  and  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude, 
for  a  period  of  ten  years.  The  coasts  of  this 
region  had  been  visited  and  explored  by  Jacques 
1634.  Cartier,  nearly  seventy  years  before  ;  and  during 
the  reign  of  Francis  the  First  an  ineffectual  at- 
tempt had  been  made  to  plant  a  colony  on  the 
bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  Later  experiments 
had  not  been  more  fortunate.  One  of  these  ad- 
ventures was  conducted  by  a  Huguenot  officer. 
1599.  In  the  year  1599,  Pierre  Chauvin,  seigneur  de 
Tontuit,"  of  Honfleur  in  Normandy,  was  com- 
missioned by  Henry  IV.  to  colonize  America. 
Chauvin  was  a  captain  in  the  royal  navy,  "  very 
expert  and  well  versed  in  matters  of  navigation," 
says  Champlain,  "  who  had  served  his  Majesty  in 
the  late  wars,  although  he  was  of  the  Pretended 
Reformed    religion."  ^       Several    vessels 


n  I 


were 


'  Nouvelles  Glanes  historiques  Norniandes,  puisnes  exclu- 
sivement  dans  des  documents  in<^dits.  Par  E.  Gosselin, 
Greffier-Archiviste.  Rouen  :  Imprimeiie  de  H.  Boissel, 
ruede  laVicomte,  55. — 1873.    P.  17.    Z>«  Tontuit.  Id.,  p.  35. 

"  *'  Homme  tres  expert  et  entendu  au  faict  de  la  naviga- 
tion, qui  avoit  servi  sa  Majeste  aux  guerres  pass^es,  quoi 
qu'il  fust  de  la  religion  pr^tendue  reformee."  "  Ce  qui  fut 
h,  blasmer  en  cette  entreprise,  est  d'  avoir  donn^  une  com- 
mission ^  un  homme  de  contraire  religion,  pour  pulluler  la 
foi  c,  a.  et  r.,  que  les  h^r^tiques  ont  tant  en  horreur,  et 
abbomination.  Voil^  les  defauts  que  j'avois  d  dire  sur  ceste 
entreprise."    Voyages  de  Champlain,  vol.  I.,  pp.  44,  48. 


:     ( 


NEW  FRANCE  STILL  UNOCCUPIED. 


85 


IE       '*■ 


equipped,  and  with  a  force  of  five  hundred  men,  Chap.  i. 
Chauvin  embarked,  accompanied  by  none  but  jTZg 
Calvinistic  ministers.'  At  Tadoussac,  on  ihe 
northern  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the 
mouth  of  its  confluent  the  Saguenay,  a  trading- 
post  was  established  ;  and  leaving  sixteen  of  his 
men  to  gather  furs,  the  leader  returned  to 
France.  The  little  colony  dragged  out  a  miser- 
able existence  through  the  winter.  Several  of 
the  men  died,  and  the  others  were  barely  kept 
alive  by  the  compassionate  savages,  who  shared 
with  them  their  slender  provisions.  Chauvin 
made  another  unsuccessful  attempt  to  effect  a 
settlement  in  the  same  place,  and  was  about  to  1602. 
start  upon  a  third  voyage,  when  he  died.  In  the 
following  year,  the  commission  which  had  been 
granted  him  was  transferred  to  a  Roman  Catho- 
lic patentee,  Aymar  de  Chastes,  governor  of 
Dieppe.  But  before  the  ships  sent  out  for  the 
exploration  of  the  country  returned,  De  Chastes 
too  was  dead.  Thus  in  the  early  days  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  scarcely  a  trace  remained 
of  the  expeditions  of  French  adventurers  to 
North  America.  The  whole  of  the  vast  region 
claimed  by  France  in  virtue  of  the  discoveries 
of  Verrazzano,  who  as  early  as  the  year  1524 
had  planted  her  standard  upon  its  soil,  was  still 
waiting  to  be  occupied. 

De  Monts  had  accompanied  Chauvin,  "  for  his 
own  pleasure,"  on  his  first  visit  to  the  St.  Law- 


r^i 


'  "  Tout  ira  assez  bien,  horsmis  qu'il  n'  y  aura  que  des 
ministres  &  pasteurs  Calvinistes." — Id.,  p.  45. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  M580 

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86 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


1! 


Chap.  I, 
1603. 


Cadie. 


rence.  His  impressions  of  the  country  watered 
by  that  great  river — influenced  perhaps  by  the 
unfortunate  result  of  the  expedition — were  not 
favorable  ;  and  he  preferred  a  more  southerly 
region,  and  a  milder  temperature,  for  his  own 
agricultural  colony.  For  this  reason  he  was 
attracted  to  the  large  peninsula  lying  south  of 
the  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  now  known  as  Nova 
Scotia.  The  discoverer  Cartier  had  given  a 
glowing  account  of  this  territory,  and  had  par- 
ticularly noticed  its  cb'mate,  resembling  that  of 
Spain,  and  in  singular  contrast  v/ith  the  bleak 
weather  he  had  encountered  on  the  neighboring 
coast  of  Newfoundland.  This  fertile  country, 
abounding  in  lakes  and  rivers  and  estuaries,'  had 
already  received  the  name  of  La  Cadie  ;  ^  and 
the  commission  given  by  Henry  IV.  to  his  trusty 
subject  the  Sieur  de  Monts,  constituted  him  its 
viceroy. 

This  commissioiT  was  a  characteristic  docu- 
ment.3  It  began  by  setting  forth  the  king's 
favorite  project  for  the  enlargement  of  his  do- 
minions. "  It  has  ever  been,"  reads  the  pream- 
ble of  the  royal  grant,  "our  principal  concern 
and  endeavor,  since  our  accession  to  this  crown, 
to  maintain  and  preserve  it  in  its  ancient  dignity, 
greatness  and  splendor,  and  to  spread  and 
augment,  so  far  as  may  be  legitimately  done,  the 

'  About  one-fifth  of  the  area  of  Nova  Scotia  is  occupied 
by  these  waters. 

'  The  earliest  mention,  however,  occurs  in  De  Monts' 
commission. 

'  See  the  Appendix  to  this  volume. 


DE  MONTS'  COMMISSION. 


87 


bounds  and  limits  thereof."  But  there  was  an  Chap.  i. 
object  of  still  higher  importance  to  be  sought  in  1603. 
the  present  enterprise.  The  king,  "  having  long 
since  informed  himself  of  the  situation  and 
condition  of  the  country  and  territory  of  Acadia," 
professed  to  be  "  moved  above  all  things  by  a 
singular  zeal,  and  by  a  devout  and  firm  resolu- 
tion "  which  he  had  taken,  "  with  the  help  and 
assistance  of  God,  who  is  the  author,  distributor, 
and  protector  of  all  kingdoms  and  states,  to  seek 
the  conversion,  guidance  and  instruction  of  the 
races  that  inhabit  that  country,  from  their  barbar- 
ous and  godless  condition,  without  faith  or  relig- 
ion, to  Christianity  and  the  belief  and  profession 
of  our  faith  and  religion,  and  to  rescue  them 
from  the  ignorance  and  unbelief  in  which  they 
now  lie."  For  these  purposes,  secular  as  well 
as  spiritual,  Henry  appointed  the  Sieur  de 
Monts  his  lieutenant-general,  with  powers  "to 
subject  all  the  peoples  of  that  country  and  of  the 
surrounding  parts  to  our  authority  ;  and  by  all  Therights 
lawful  means  to  lead  them  to  the  knowledge  of  conscience 
God  and  to  the  light  of  the  Christian  faith  and  '"'" 
religion,  and  to  establish  them  therein."  All 
other  inhabitants  were  to  be  maintained  and  pro- 
tected in  the  exercise  and  profession  of  the  same 
Christian  faith  and  religion,  and  in  peace,  repose 
and  tranquillity. 

Thus  the  foundations  of  New  France  were  to 
be  laid  in  religious  freedom  and  toleration.  Ro- 
manist and  Calvinist  were  equally  secured  in  the 
enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  conscience.  And  the 
heathen  aborigines  were  to  be  taught  the  truths 


i\ 


i    ' 


m\\ 


!  :!tl  I  Hi  ii  ! 


^"lij 


S8 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


Pierre 

du  Oua, 

sieor 

de 
Monts. 


Chap.  I.  of  that  common  Christianity  which  CathoHc  and 
1603.  Protestant  ahke  professed.  If  the  plan  was  im- 
practicable, it  did  honor  nevertheless  to  the  heart 
and  mind  that  prompted  and  devised  the  Edict 
of  Nantes. 

De  Monts  associated  with  himself  the  mem- 
bers of  a  company  which  had  been  organized  for 
one  of  the  previous  unsuccessful  expeditions ; 
adding  to  their  number  some  of  the  merchants  of 
the  principal  seaports  of  the  kingdom,  chiefly  of 
La  Rochelle.  He  himself  was  well  fitted  to  be 
the  leader  of  such  an  enterprise.  He  had  fought 
bravely  under  Henry  in  the  late  wars,  and  the 
king,  who  trusted  him  thoroughly,  had  made  him 
one  of  the  gentlemen  of  his  bed-chpmber,  and 
some  years  after  appointed  him  governor  of 
Pons,  ia  his  native  province  of  Saintonge.  All 
the  early  writers  agree  in  characterizing  him  as  a 
man  of  the  highest  integrity,  and  the  purest 
patriotism.  In  courage,  energy,  perseverance, 
in  tact  and  firmness,  and  in  unselfish  devotion  to 
his  country's  glory,  the  Protestant  founder  of 
New  France  was  admirably  qualified  for  h's  mis- 
sion. ' 

With  two  well-provisioned  ships  at  his  com- 
mand, De  Monts  sailed  from  Havre  de  Grace 


*  "  Henry  IV.  avoit  une  grande  confiance  [en  lui]  pour  sa 
fidelite,  commeil  a  toujours  fait  paroitre  jusques  £l  samort." 
— Voyages  du  Sieur  Champlain,  ou  Journal  ^s  Decouvertes  de 
la  Nouvelle  France.     Paris,  1830.     Vol.  I.,  p.  54. 

"  C'^toitd'  ailleurs  un  fort  honnete  homme,  et  qui  avoit  du 
zele  pour  I'Etat  et  toute  la  capacity  n^cessaire  pour  r^ussir 
dans  I'entreprise  dont  il  s'^toit  charg^." — Histoire  de  la 
Nouvelle  France,  par  le  P.  de  Charlevoix.     Vol.  I.,  p.  173. 


MINISTER  AND  PRIEST. 


89 


early  in  March,  1604.  The  band  of  adventurers 
whom  he  had  gathered  for  his  colony,  numbered 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  persons.*  It  was 
made  up  of  materials  very  diverse.  Some  were 
of  noble  birth,  while  others  were  of  low  condi- 
tion. There  wf<^  Huguenots  and  Romanists; 
and  for  the  spiritual  care  of  the  settlers,  and  the 
proposed  conversion  of  the  savages  of  America, 
a  Protestant  minisier  and  a  Roman  Catholic 
priest  went  with  them."  De  Monts'  commission 
authorized  him  to  impress  for  his  expedition  any 
"  vagabonds,  idlers  or  vagrants,"  as  well  as  any 
criminals  condemned  to  banishment  from  the 
realm,  whom  he  might  sec  fit  to  employ.  A  like 
permission  had  been  given  to  preceding  adven- 
turers, and  more  than  one  of  them  had  availed 
himself  of  it.'     But  it  does  not  appear  that  the 


Chap.  I. 

1604. 

March 
7. 


'  The  names  of  a  few  of  these  may  be  gathered  from  Cham- 
plain's  account  of  the  expedition.  Mention  is  made  of  les 
Sieurs  de  Geneston,  Sourin,  d'  Oraille,  Chaudore,  de  Beau- 
mont, la  Motte  Bourioli,  Fougeray,  la  Taille,  Miquelet ;  the 
surgeons  des  Champs,  of  Honfleur,  and  Bonnerme  ;  Messire 
Aubry,  priest,  and  le  Sieur  Raleau,  secretary  of  M.  de  Monts. 

*  It  is  charitable  to  presume  that  these  religious  teachers 
may  have  kept  the  peace  during  the  voyage,  at  least.  The 
lively  incident  related  by  Champlain  {v.J>osfea,page  99)  did 
not  occur  af  sea,  as  we  might  infer  from  the  account  of  it  in 
"  Pioneers  of  France  in  the  New  World,"  page  223  ;  since 
it  took  place  in  the  presence  of  "  the  savages,"  who  some- 
times sided  with  the  one  disputant  and  sometimes  with  the 
other.  Their  differences  doubtless  began  in  earnest  when 
they  engaged  in  efforts  to  convert  the  Indians,  each  to  his 
own  religious  belief. 

'  In  1540,  Francis  I.  sent  Cartier  back  to  Canada,  with  or- 
ders to  take  with  him  fifty  persons  condemned  for  crime,"  hors 
d'  h^r^sie,  et  de  l^se-majestd  divine  et  humaine,"  for  the 
settlement  of  that  country.     (Nouvelles  Glanes  historiques 


il 


II  III 


nr^'i^i 


Chap.  I, 
1604. 


The 

coast  of 

Acadia 

explored. 


90 


UNDER  THE  EDTCT  :  ACADIA. 


Huguenot  leader  found  it  necessary  to  form  his 
company  out  of  such  materials.  There  were  good 
men  and  true,  of  his  own  creed  and  severe 
morality,  who  could  easily  be  drawn  into  an 
enterprise  so  hopeful.  Among  the  gentlemen 
who  accompanied  De  Monts  were  two  of  his  for- 
mer comrades  in  the  service  of  Henry  of  Navarre. 
The  one  was  the  famous  Samuel  de  Champlain, 
like  himself  a  native  of  Saintonge,  and  not  im- 
probably a  Protestant  by  birth,*  but  who  if  origi- 
nally a  Protestant  had  followed  the  king's 
example  in  conforming  to  the  Church  of  Rome. 
The  other  was  Jean  de  Biencourt,  baron  de 
Poutrincourt,  the  future  proprietor  of  Port  Royal. 
A  short  and  uneventful  voyage  brought  the 
colonists  in  sight  of  Acadia.  Some  time  was 
consumed  in  explorations  with  a  view  '^o  the  dis- 
covery of  a  suitable  place  for  the  settlement.  On 
one  occasion,  the  explorers  met  with  an  adven- 
ture, that  came  near  disturbing  the  harmony  of 
the  expedition.  Coasting  along  the  south-eastern 
shore  of  the  peninsula,  De  Monts  had  passed 
Cape  Sable,  and  then  steering  northward  had 
entered  a  bay,  to  which  he  gave  the  name   St. 

Normandes,  par  E.  Gosselin.  P.  4.)  The  saving  clause, 
''^heresy  excepted"  illustrates  the  fatuous  policy  of  France,  in 
shutting  out  from  her  colonies  the  only  class  of  people  dis- 
posed to  emigrate,  and  the  class  affording  the  best  material 
for  colonization. 

"  The  possibility  is  suggested  by  the  authors  of  the 
Histoire  de  la  Colonie  fran^aise  en  Canada,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  no  record  of  Champlain's  birth  and  baptism  is  to 
be  found  in  Brouage,  his  native  place  ;  and  in  view  of  his 
surname,  Samuel,  "  nom  inusit^  alors  chez  les  Catholiques  et 
en  honneur  chez  les  Protestants." — Vol.  I.     Note  XXI. 


r 


AUBRY'S  ADVENTURE. 


91 


Mary,  which  it  retains.  Here,  pleased  with  the  Chap.i. 
appearance  of  the  country,  he  sent  ashore  a  1604. 
party  to  make  further  examination.  Among  the 
men  were  two,  a  Protestant,  and  a  young  Roman 
CathoHc  priest,  named  Aubry,  who  had  often  dur- 
ing the  voyage  engaged  in  hot  discussion  over 
their  differing  rehgious  tenets.  Straying  from 
his  companions,  Aubry  lost  his  way  in  the 
forest,  and  when  the  time  came  for  their  return 
to  the  ship,  he  could  not  be  found.  Anxious  for 
his  safety,  De  Monts  caused  a  search  to  be 
made,  not  only  by  his  own  men,  but  by  the 
friendly  savages  also.  Trumpets  were  sounded, 
and  cannon  were  fired,  but  in  vain.  At  length 
all  hope  of  success  was  abandoned.  With 
heavy  hearts  the  colonists  set  sail,  and  leaving 
St.  Mary's  bay  proceeded  on  their  course.  But 
now  their  conjectures  as  to  the  fate  of  their 
unfortunate  comrade  took  the  hue  of  grave  sus- 
picion. For  it  was  remembered  that  Aubry  had 
last  been  seen  in  company  with  the  Protestant 
who  had  so  frequently  been  his  antagonist  in 
sharp  debate.  Angry  words,  that  might  be  con- 
strued as  threats  of  personal  violence,  were  re- 
called by  the  priest's  co-religionists.  Finally, 
they  openly  charged  the  Calvinist  with  having 
secretly  murdered  his  opponent.  His  earnest 
denials,  and  the  efforts  of  the  prudent  com- 
mander to  allay  the  rising  storm,  deterred  them 
from  taking  summary  vengeance.  Great  must 
have  been  the  relief  of  all,  when  after  many 
days  Aubry  reappeared.  Wandering  in  the 
trackless  forest  until  his-  strength  and  courage 


92 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


Chap,  I. 
1604. 


Port 
Boyal 


failed,  he  had  given  up  all  thought  of  rescue, 
when  finding  himself  on  the  snore  of  the  great 
bay — now  known  as  the  Bay  of  Fundy — he 
spied  a  boat.  It  belonged  to  De  Monts'  ship, 
and  was  lying  off  the  island  that  still  bears  the 
name  of  Long  Island,  where  the  men  were  en- 
gaged in  fishing.  Aubry  succeeded  in  attract- 
ing their  attention,  and  was  taken  on  board,  a 
mere  shadow  of  his  former  self,  having  subsisted 
for  seventeen  days  upon  such  edible  herbs  and 
berries  as  he  could  find  in  the  wilderness.' 

Proceeding  northward  in  the  Bay  of  Fundy, 
discovered.  De  Monts  came  to  another  inlet.  A  narrow 
channel,  between  two  wooded  elevations,  admit- 
ted the  ship  to  a  noble  harbor,  surrounded  by 
sheltering  hills.  To  this  beautiful  basin — now 
called  Annapolis  Harbor — the  commander  gave 
the  name  of  Port  Royal ;  and  here  his  associate 
De  Poutrincourt,  who  was  in  search  of  an  eligible 
spot  for  a  settlement  of  his  own,  decided  to  re- 
main and  make  his  home.  De  Monts  approved 
the  choice,  and  accompanied  the  consent  with  a 
grant  of  the  locality  to  his  friend,  who  promised 
at  once  to  bring  over  a  number  of  families  from 
France  to  occupy  and  improve  it. 

The  site  chosen  for  the  future  town  of  Port 
Royal  was  a  point  of  land  jutting  out  from  the 
eastern  shore,  between  two  rivers  that  flowed 
into  the  bay.  A  wooded  island,  half  a  league  in 
circumference,  lay  directly  opposite,  in  the  cen- 

*  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  par  Marc  Lescarbot. 
A  Paris  :  chez  Jean  Millot.  MDC.  XII.  P.  453.  (Euvres 
de  Champlain,  tome  II.,  p.  16. 


ANNAPOLIS  HARBOR. 


93 


St.  Croix 
Island. 


ter  of  the  basin.  The  surrounding  forests  were  chap.i 
broken  here  and  there  by  broad  prairies ;  and  j^ 
along  the  shore  stretched  extensive  salt  marshes, 
which  at  a  later  day  were  reclaimed  and  made 
exceedingly  productive.  The  largest  ships 
could  ride  in  safety  within  the  land-locked  har- 
bor, which  was,  however,  difficult  of  access, 
owing  to  the  narrowness  of  the  entrance  and 
the  shoals  within.  The  place  offered  every  ad- 
vantage fo-  settlement.  The  fertile  soil,  the 
abundant  and  excellent  timber,  the  rich  fisheries, 
the  salubrious  climate,  invited  the  colonist.  In 
no  other  part  of  Acadia  were  the  winters  so 
mild. 

Accompanied  by  Champlain,  De  Monts  con- 
tinued his  explorations,  passing  from  headland 
to  headland  along  the  shores  of  the  great  bay, 
and  finally  fixed  upon  a  place  for  the  establish- 
ment of  his  own  colony.  It  was  a  small  island 
off  the  coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix 
river,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 
The  site  was  singularly  unsuitable.  The  island, 
not  more  than  ten  acres  in  extent,  was  without 
water,  and  ill-supplied  with  wood.  The  bitter 
experiences  of  a  winter  passed  upon  this  rocky 
islet  convinced  the  French  of  their  mistake,  and 
after  examining  other  places  along  the  coast, 
De  Monts  resolved  to  remove  his  colony  to  Port 
Royal,  and  unite  his  forces  with  the  settlement 
which  De  Poutrincourt  had  commenced  there. 
Sickness  had  thinned  the  numbers  of  the  little 
company  during  their  stay  at  St.  Croix :  of 
seventy-nine  settlers,  only  forty  survived.    They 


94 


Ux\DER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA, 


Chap.i.  were  joined  in  the  summer  of  1606' by  Marc 
iC'oC.  Lescarbot,  a  Protestant  lawyer  and  man  of 
letters,  who  has  left  us  a  lively  account  of  the 
infant  colony  in  his  History  of  New  France. 
He  found  it  without  a  religious  teacher.  The 
priest  and  the  minister  whom  De  Monts  brought 
over  with  him,  both  died  during  the  sickness 
that  prevailed  on  the  island  of  St.  Croix.  Les- 
\^"^  carbot  tells  us  that  he  did  his  best  to  supply  the 

vacancy.  "  Being  requested,"  he  says,  "  by  the 
Sieur  de  Poutrincourt,*  our  chief,  to  give  some 
portion  of  my  time  to  the  Christian  instruction 
i,ay  of  our  little  community,  in  order  that  we  might 
P"*J^°s  not  live  like  the  beasts,  and  that  we  might  afTord 
Port  the  savages  an  example  of  our  way  of  living,  I 
did  so  every  Sunday,  and  also  upon  some  extra- 
ordinary occasions,  nearly  all  the  time  we  were 
there.  And  it  happened  well  that  without  antici- 
pating this,  I  had  brought  with  me  my  Bible  and 
a  few  books  ;  for  else  the  duty  would  have  wearied 
me  greatly,  and  I  might  have  been  compelled  to 
decline  it.  As  it  was,  the  labor  was  not  with- 
out fruit ;  for  several  persons  have  testified  to 
me  that  they  had  never  heard  so  much  said  and 
well   said   concerning    God,    having   been    pre- 

'  Le  Samedi  veille  de  Pentecoste  trezieme  de  May  [1606] 
nous  levames  les  ancres  &  fimes  voiles  en  pleine  nier  tant 
que  peu  k  peu  nous  perdimes  de  veiie  les  grosses  tours  &  la 
ville  de  la  Rochelle  puis  les  isles  de  Rez  &  d'OIeron,  disans 
Adieu  b.  la  France. — Lescarbot,  Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle 
France,  pp.  523,  524. 

"  This  nobleman,  if  nominally  a  Roman  Catholic,  appears 
to  have  been  in  full  sympathy  with  his  Huguenot  associates, 
De  Monts  and  Lescarbot.  His  hatred  of  the  Jesuits  was 
undisguised. 


A  MISSIONARY  EXPEDITION. 


95 


viously  unacquainted  with  the  principles  of  the    chap. i. 
Christian   doctrine."     "A  condition,"   adds  the     1606. 
Calvinist,  "  in  which  the  mass  of  Christendom 
is  hvmg. 

Great  hopes  were  cherished  among  the  Prot- 
estants of  France  for  the  success  of  this  colony 
as  a  missionary  expedition.     The  conversion  of 
the  heathen  natives  was  In  leed  one  of  the  chief 
of   its   avowed   endb.     At    La  Rochelle,  where 
Lescarbot  took  ship  for  New  France,  he  found 
the  Huguenots   praying  for  this  object  daily  in   Converts 
their   public   assemblies.     He    intimates  that  a  christian- 
number   of    the   savages   were    brought   under      ^*^' 
religious  instruction  during  the  time  of   his  stay 
in  America,  and  professed  their  readiness  to  be 
baptized."     The  Jesuit  historians  throw  discredit 


'  Meme  je  ne  seray  point  honteux  de  dire  qu'  ayant  este 
prie  par  le  Sieur  de  Poutrincourt  no'.re  chef  de  doner  quel- 
ques  heures  de  mon  industrie  k  enseigner  Chretiennement 
notre  petit  peuple,  pour  ne  vivre  en  betes,  &  pour  donner 
exemple  k  notre  fagon  de  vivre  aux  Sauvages,  je  I'ai  fait 
en  la  necessite,  &  en  etat  requis,  par  chacun  Dimanche,  & 
quelque  fois  extraordinairement,  presque  tout  le  temps  que 
nous  y  avons  ete.  Et  bien  me  vint  que  j'avoy  poi  t^  ma 
Bible  &  quelque  livres,  sans  y  penser  :  Car  autrement  une 
telle  Charge  m'eut  fort  fatigue  &  eust  et6  cause  que  ie  m'en 
serois  excuse.  Or  cela  ne  fut  point  sans  fruit,  plusieurs 
m'ayant  rendu  temoignage  que  jamais  ils  n'  avoient  tant  oui 
parler  de  Dieu  en  bonne  part,  &  ne  sachant  auparavant 
aucun  principe  en  ce  qui  est  de  la  doctrine  Chretienne." — 
Histoire  de  la  Nouvelle  France,  par  Marc  Lescarbot.  Livre 
iv.,  chap.  V. 

*  "  Le  principal  but  de  sa  [de  Poutrincourt]  transmigra- 
tion, qui  estoit  de  procurer  le  salut  de  ces  pauvres  peuples 
sauvages  et  barbares.  Lors  que  nous  y  estions  nous  leurs 
avions  quelquefois  donnd  en  I'ame  de  bonnes  impressions 
de  la  connoisance  de  Dieu,  comme  se  peut  voir  par  le  dis- 


96 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


Chap.  I.  upon  these  early  efforts  to  Christianize  the 
1604,  Indians  ;  and  in  fact  they  represent  that  the 
Huguenot  De  Monts  was  required,  by  the  terms 
of  his  commission,  as  viceroy  of  Acadia,  to 
propagate  the  Roman  Catholic  faith  among 
them.  This  statement,  for  which  the  authority 
of  Champlain  himself  is  given,  has  hitherto 
passed  unquestioned.  But  we  have  already 
seen  that  De  Monts*  commission  contained  no 
such  stipulation.  It  differed  in  th  respect  very 
significantly  from  the  commissions  that  had 
been  given  to  previous  applicants.  The  patent 
granted  by  Francis  I.  to  Jacques  Cartier  speaks 
of    "  the   augmentation   of    our   Mother   Holy 

cours  de  notre  voyage,  &  en  mon   Adieu  k  la  Nouvelle 
France." — Lescarbot,  Histoire  dela  Nouvelle  France,  p.  636. 

Adieu  done  ie  te  dis,  ile  de  beaut^  pleine, 
Et  vous  oiseaux  aussi  des  eaux  et  des  forets, 
Qui  serez  les  t^moins  de  mes  tristes  regrets. 
Car  c'est  k  grand  regret,  et  ie  ne  le  puis  taire, 
Que  ie  quitte  ce  lieu,  quoy  qu'  assez  solitaire. 
Car  c'est  h.  grand  regret  qu'  ores  ici  ie  voy 
Ebranle  le  sujet  d'y  enter  n6tre  Foy, 
Et  du  grand  Dieu  le  nom  cach^  sous  le  silence, 
Qui  i  ce  peuple  avoit  touchS  la  conscience. 


Temoins  soient  de  ceci  les  propos  veritables 
Que  Poutrincourt  tenoit  avec  ces  miserables 
Quand  il  leur  enseignoit  n6tre  Religion, 
Et  souvent  leur  montroit  I'ardente  affection 
Qu'il  avoit  de  les  voir  dedans  la  bergerie 
Que  Christ  a  rachet^  par  le  pris  de  sa  vie. 

Eux  d'  autre  part  emeus  clairement  temoignoient 
Et  de  bouche  &  de  coeur  le  desir  qu'ilz  avoient 
D'estre  plus  amplement  instruits  en  la  doctrine 
En  laquelle  il  convient  qu*  un  fidele  chemine. 

— Lescarbot,  Adieu  k  la  Nouvelle  France. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  FAITH  AND  RELIGION.    97 

Church  Catholic"  (de  notre  mere  Sainte  EgHse  Chap,  i. 
Catholique).  Henry  IV.  himself,  in  his  com-  1604. 
mission  to  the  Marquis  de  la  Roche,  a  Roman 
Catholic  nobleman,  mentions  the  "aggrandize- 
ment of  the  Catholic  faith  "  (la  foy  Catholique)  as 
the  aim  in  view.  But  the  patent  issued  to  the 
Huguenot  De  Monts  was  conceived  in  more 
general  terms.  It  required  that  the  heathen 
be  converted  "  to  Christianity,"  "  to  the  knowl- 
edge of  God,  and  to  the  light  of  the  Christian 
faith  and  religion." '  However  this  language 
might  be  understood  by  the  zealots  of  Rome,  it 
was  not  likely  that  Protestants  would  construe 
it  as  denoting  the  doctrines  of  the  Papal  sy.>tem 
exclusively,  nor  indeed  that  the  king,  who,  if 
not  still  a  Protestant  at  heart,  was  far  from 
being  regardless  of  the  rights  of  his  Reformed 
subjects,  could  have  so  designed  it.  This  sig 
nificant  omission,  indeed,  did  not  escape  the 
notice  of  De  Monts'  enemies  at  the  time. 

Objections  were  raised  to  the  expedition  Objections 
on  the  score  of  the  religious  belief  of  its  De  Monts' 
leader.  The  Parliament  of  Rouen  refused  to  *'°^" 
register  his  commission,  and  sent  one  of  its 
members  to  remonstrate  with  the  king  against 
the  appointment  of  a  heretic  to  be  his  lieutenant 
in  Acadia.  But  before  the  envoy  could  reach 
Paris,  a  letter  came  from  Henry,  setting  forth  in 
very  peremptory  terms  the  royal  pleasure. 
"We  have  been  advised,"  said  the  king,  "of  the 

'  The  correctness  of  Lescarbot's  version  of  the  patent 
granted  to  De  Monts  is  attested  by  a  contemporaneous 
translation,  for  which  see  the  Appendix. 


■ion. 


98 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


m 


;i 


Chap.  I.    opposition  that  has  been  made  to  the  execution 

1604.     ol  the  powers  we  have   given  to  the    Sieur  de 

Monts  for  the  peopHngand  occupying  of  Acadia 

and   other    adjacent   countries ;    and    we   have 

learned   that   you    take   chief  exception  to   the 

pretended  reformed  religion,  of  which  the  said 

Sieur    de    Monts     makes     profession     .     . 

Wherefore  that   you   may  be   certified   of  our 

will  and  purpose,  we  let  you  know  that  we  have 

given  command  that  some  ecclesiastics  of  good 

life,    doctrine,  and  edification   shall  proceed  to 

the  said  countries  with  the  said  Sieur  de  Monts, 

to  counteract  [prevenir]  whatever  of  a  contrary 

profession  might  be  there  sown  and  introduced.'  " 

Notwithstanding  this   assurance,   the   Parlia- 

guarantee  ment   of  Rouen  still  hesitated   to  confirm  the 

heresy!    commission.     Manifestly,  it  was   thought   that 

no  sufficient  guarantee  had  been  given  for  the 

'  "  Nos  amez  et  feaulx,  nous  avons  est^  adverty  des  oppo- 
sitions fornixes  k  I'ex^cution  du  pouvoir  que  nous  avons 
donnd  au  Sieur  de  Monts  pour  le  peuplenient  et  I'habitation 
de  la  terre  de  I'Acadye  et  autres  terres  et  provinces  circon- 
voisines,  selon  q  I'elles  sont  prescrites  par  ledit  pouvoir  et 
sceu  que  vous  vous  arretez  principalement  sur  la  religion 
prdtendue  r^form^e,  dont  ledict  Sieur  de  Montz  faict  pro- 
fession comme  aussy  sur  1'  interdiction  que  vous  avons 
faicte  k  nos  courts  du  Parlement  de  ce  faict,  des  circon- 
stances  et  dependances  et  autres  actions  qui  se  pourroient 
mouvoir  pour  raison  des  ordonnances  que  nous  avons  faictes 
pour  ce  subject,  ou,  ce  que  Ton  pretend  de  prejudice  et 
int^rets  en  la  liberty  du  comnnerce.  Sur  quoi  afin  que  vous 
soyez  assurez  de  notre  vouloir  et  intention,  nous  vous  dirons 
que  nous  avons  donn^  ordre  que  quelques  gens  d'Eglise  de 
bonne  vie,  doctrine  et  Edification  se  transportent  6s  dits 
pays  et  provinces  avcc  le  diet  sieur  de  Montz  pour  prevenir 
ce  que  Ton  pourroit  y  semer  et  introduire  de  contraire  pro- 
fession." 

— Gosselin.  (Nouvelles  Glanes  historiques  normandes.) 


RELIGIOUS    DIFFERENCES. 


99 


spread  of  the  true  faith  and  the  repression  of  chap.  i. 
heresy  in  New  France.     But  the  king  deigned     1604. 
no  further  explanation  ;  and  all  discussion  of  the 
subject  was  speedily  cut  off  by  a  royal  behest, 
which  admitted  of  no  further  delay. 

Champlain  represents  the  heathen  as  greatly 
scandalized  by  the  differences  between  the 
Catholics  and  the  Protestants,  which  they  wit- 
nessed from  time  to  time.  "  One  thing  must  be 
remarked,"  he  observes,  "  to  the  disadvantage  of 
this  enterprise,  namely,  that  two  conflicting  re- 
ligions never  produce  any  great  results  for  the 
glory  of  God  in  the  conversion  of  the  unbelievers. 
I  have  seen  the  minister  and  our  curd  fighting 
with  their  fists,  while  discussing  their  religious 
differences.  I  do  not  know  which  one  of  the  two 
may  have  been  the  braver,  and  may  have  dealt 
'.!ie  bett'i^r  blow  ;  but  I  do  know  that  the  minister 
used  sometimes  to  complain  to  the  Sieur  De 
Monts  that  he  had  been  beaten.  Thus  it  was 
that  they  determined  their  points  of  controversy. 
I  leave  it  to  you  to  say  whether  this  was  a  pleas- 
ant sight.  The  savages  sided  sometimes  with 
the  one  party  and  sometimes  with  the  other;  and 
the  French,  mingling  in  the  discussion  according 
to  their  differing  beliefs,  vilified  both  religions, 
though  the  Sieur  De  Monts  did  his  best  to  restore 
peace  among  them." 

Port  Royal  was  beginning  to  wear  the  aspect 
of  a  thrifty  and  prosperous  settlement,  when  in 
the  summer  of  the  year  1607,  tidings  arrived 
from  France  that  the  privileges  of  trade  granted 
to  De  Monts  under  his  commission  from  the  king 


ir!i!R mi 


!.  I 


lOO 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


I  i  I J 


Chap.  I. 

1607. 


I   1 


inn 


of  trade 
with- 
drawn. 


1 


were  withdrawn.  The  merchants  of  St.  Malo,  in 
Bretagne,  had  long  been  foremost  in  the  traffic 
pursued  along  the  American  coast.  Great  was 
their  indignation  when  they  learned  that  a  rival 
company  had  obtained  exclusive  rights,  shutting 
them  out  from  the  fisheries  and  the  fur-trade 
which  they  prized  so  much.  No  efforts  w^ere 
spared  to  break  down  the  odious  monopoly ;  and 
at  length  these  efforts  succeeded.  De  Monts 
was  compelled  to  renounce  his  cherished  plan.  A 
good  beginning  had  been  made  by  the  little  band 
Privileges  of  colonists.  Their  cultivated  lands  gave  promise 
of  rich  harvests.  They  had  erected  a  small  pali- 
saded fort,  a  mill,  stbre-houses  and  dwellings,  and 
had  undertaken  the  manufacture  of  tar.  They 
had  established  friendly  relations  with  the  natives, 
and  had  met  with  some  success  in  the  effort  to 
convert  them  to  Christianity.  But  the  experiment 
of  colonization  was  costly,  and,  without  the 
revenue  to  be  derived  from  the  monopoly  granted 
them,  could  not  be  carried  on.  Port  Royal  was 
abandoned,  at  least  for  the  present.  The  title  to 
the  lands  upon  which  the  settlement  had  been 
effected  was  still  held,  however,  by  De  Monts' 
associate,  De  Poutrincourt,  and  two  years  later 
he  returned  and  took  possession  of  his  grant,  a 
confirmation  of  which  he  obtained  from  the  kin 2^. 
Meanwhile,  baffled  in  the  attempt  to  colonize 
Acadia,  De  Monts  did  not  immediately  renounce 
the  scheme  of  a  French  settlement  in  the  New 
World.  Though  he  had  lost  his  exclusive 
privileges  of  trade,  the  Huguenot  leader  still 
held  his  commission  from  Henry  the  Fourth,  giv- 


111,1 


IT 


*v**l!""'' 


PORT  ROYAL  ABANDONED. 


lOI 


ing  him  vice-regal  powers  over  the  whole  vast  Chap.  i. 
territory,  which  included  not  only  the  peninsula  1608. 
since  known  as  Nova  Scotia,  but  also  Canada, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  continent  to  which  it 
belongs.  He  was  resolved  to  attempt  a  settle- 
ment in  the  interior ;  and  in  order  to  secure  the 
means  of  accomplishing  this  purpose,  he  again 
petitioned  the  king,  and  obtained  a  renewal  of 
the  monopoly  of  trade  with  America,  at  first  for 
a  single  year.  Again  he  associated  with  himself 
the  daring  and  enthusiastic  Champlain.  Two 
ships  were  equipped  for  the  expedition  ;  the 
one,  to  carry  on  the  traffic  in  peltries  from  which 
the  needed  revenue  for  the  enterprise  was  to  be 
derived  ;  the  other,  under  the  command  of  Cham- 
plain,  to  discover  and  to  occupy  a  suitable  site 
for  the  proposed  colony. 

It  was  in  the  summer  of  the  year  1608  that  settiemcjt 
Champlain,  acting  under  the  authority  of  De  QaJJec. 
Monts,  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
upon  the  spot  which  was  to  be  the  site  of  the  city 
of  Quebec.  The  superb  position  must  have  im- 
pressed the  great  explorer,  and  perhaps,  like 
Frontenac,  at  a  later  day,  he  too  saw  here  "  the 
future  capital  of  a  great  empire."  ' 

For  many  years,  however,  the  place  was 
scarcely  more  than  a  trading-post.  Little  in- 
ducement was  held  out  to  settlers,  and  few 
came  over  with  any  design  to  remain  and  culti- 
vate the  soil.  The  attractions  of  commerce  were 
stronger  than  those  of  colonization.     De  Monts' 

'  Frontenac  and  New  France  under  Louis  XIV.  by  Fran- 
cis Parkman,  p.  15. 


'    1  i' ' 

EJ: 


I 


It 


'|1JI: 
lit.- 


I02 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


Chap.  I.  company,  holding  nominally  the  exclusive  right 
1608.  to  trade  with  the  New  World,  had  been  consider- 
ably enlarged.  The  sagacious  and  large-hearted 
Huguenot,  more  intent  upon  the  success  of  his 
colony  than  upon  his  own  personal  interests, 
drew  the  rival  houses  of  St.  Malo  into  its  service 
by  admitting  them  as  partners  of  the  monopoly 
which  they  had  endeavored  to  break  down. 
But  the  company's  ships  were  not  alone  in  carry- 
ing on  the  traffic.  Many  merchants  of  Rochelle 
and  other  ports  were  actively  engaged  in  it ;  and 
many  a  free-trader,  besides,  setting  at  defiance 
the  restrictions  placed  upon  commerce,  sought 
the  shores  of  '^ew  France,  drove  his  own  bargain 
with  the  savages,  and  sailed  back  to  the  French 

Eeiigious  coast  with  rich  cargoes  of  peltry, 
uiiestriot-  ^^  Y^^'  there  was  no  interference  with  re- 
^'  ligious  liberty.  Protestants  and  Romanists 
shared  alike  in  the  toils  and  the  profits  of  trade, 
and  often  discussed  the  differences  of  their 
belief  with  a  freedom  that  ran  into  license.  Re- 
ligious contentions  were  indeed  among  the  chief 
troubles  experienced  by  Champlain  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  colony,  to  which  he  had  now 
been  appointed.  A  few  Franciscan  friars  were 
brought  over  in  161 5,  to  undertake  the  spiritual 
care  of  the  French,  and  the  conversion  of  the 
Indians.  But  the  Calvinist  traders  and  sailors 
were  proof  against  the  persuasions  of  the  zeal- 
ous missionaries ;  and  as  yet,  no  harsher  means 
than  persuasion  could  be  employed  to  subdue 
their  heresy.  On  many  of  the  company's  ves- 
sels, as  on  most  of  the  ships  engaged  in  inde- 


Hay 
14. 


DE  MONTS'  COMMISSION  SURRENDERED.    103 

pendent  trade,  the  crews  were  assembled  daily   Chap.i 
for  prayers,  after  the  manner  of   Geneva;  and     1610. 
even   good  Catholics,  it  was  complained,  were 
required  by  the  Huguenot  captains  to  join  in  the 
psalmody  which  formed  so  important  a  part  of 
the  Protestant  worship. 

But  the  Huguenots  of  France  had  now  lost 
their  royal  protector.  Henry  the  Fourth  fell 
under  the  assassin's  knife ;  and  soon  after,  the 
honest  and  patriotic  De  Monts,  relinquishing  at 
length  his  cherished  plan,  surrendered  the  com- 
mission he  still  held  as  viceroy  of  New  France. 
It  was  manifest  that  the  infant  colony  needed  a 
more  powerful  friend  ;  and  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
a  former  chief  of  the  Huguenot  party,  and  still 
its  recognized  champion,  was  induced  to  lend  his 
name  to  the  enterprise.  This  headship,  how- 
ever, was  only  titular.  The  actual  possessors  of 
iNew  France  were  no  friends  to  Protestantism 
or  to  religious  freedom.  By  a  singular  fatality, 
the  proprietary  rights  which  De  Monts  had 
parted  with,  were  now,  to  all  intents  and  pur- 
poses, lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  Jesuits.  The 
ostensible  purchaser  was  a  woman.  Antoinette 
de  Pons,  marquise  de  Guercheville,  a  lady  of 
honor  to  the  queen,  was  an  intense  devotee  of 
the  Church  of  Rome,  and  an  enthusiastic  ad- 
mirer of  the  so-called  Society  of  Jesus, 
missions  which  that  Society  had  been  carrying 
on  with  wonderful  energy  for  more  than  half  a 
century  in  Asia  and  in  South  America,  awakened 
her  warmest  interest.  Plans  for  a  similar  work 
were   now   entertained   with    reference   to   the 


'ir«>->>^*  ,r., 


The 
Jesuit 
1  ne    miuions. 


|)r 

I04 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


t 


Chap.  I.  northern  continent  of  the  New  World ;  and 
leTi.  Madame  de  Guercheville  readily  gave  her  in- 
fluence and  her  wealth  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  scheme.  Seeking  out  the  Huguenot  pat- 
entee of  Acadia  and  Canada,  she  made  him  a 
tempting  offer  for  the  transfer  of  his  rights  in 
New  France.  She  found  De  Montsin  his  native 
town  of  Pons,  to  the  government  of  which  he 
had  lately  been  appointed.  The  moment  was 
The  favorable  to  the  success  of  the  lady's  plan.  De 
'Soled?  Monts  stood  in  pressing  need  of  money  for  the 
defense  of  his  town.  Pons  was  one  of  the 
strong  places  secured  to  the  Protestants  by  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  and  great  pains  had  been 
taken  since  the  close  of  the  civil  war  to  repair 
its  walls  and  fortifications.  But  Pons  was 
poorly  garrisoned ;  and  its  citizens,  sharing  in 
the  uneasiness  that  pervaded  the  Reformed 
body  ever  since  the  tragic  death  of  Henry  the 
Fourth,  were  anxiously  devising  ways  and  means 
to  augment  the  military  force  in  command.'  The 
bargain  was  made.  The  garrison  of  the  little 
1621.  town — destined  to  be  dismantled  in  a  few  years 
by  the  troops  of  Louis  the  Thirteenth — was 
strengthened  ;  and  the  title  to  the  proprietor- 
ship of  half  a  continent  passed  from  the  hands 
of  a  Huguenot  into  those  of  a  subservient  tool 
of  the  Jesuits. 

Acadia  was  the  field  chosen  for  the  beginning 
of  the  missions  of  Rome  in   New  France.     On 

'  Histoire  des  (^glises  r^form^es  de  Pons,  Gemozac  et 
Mortagne,  en  Saintonge.  Par  A.  Crottet.  Bordeaux,  1 841. 
Pp.  101-107. 


THE  JESUITS  IN  ACADIA. 


105 


the  twenty-sixth  of  January,  161 1,  a  second  ex- 
pedition set  forth  from  the  French  coast  for  the 
harbor  of  Port  Royal.  But  this  time,  no  Hugue- 
not minister  accompanied  the  colonists.  Two 
Jesuit  priests,  the  van-guard  of  the  spiritual 
army  of  occupation  that  was  to  follow,  were 
the  chief  passengers  on  board  the  well- 
freighted  ship.  They  had  been  preceded, 
at  Port  Royal,  by  a  small  band  of  immigrants, 
under  De  Poutrincourt,  who  came  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  1610  to  resume  possession  of  the 
place  originally  granted  to  him  by  De  Monts. 
But  the  ill-success  that  attended  the  former  set- 
tlement was  awaiting  the  new  enterprise.  Bitter 
dissensions  broke  out  among  the  colonists,  which 
the  presence  of  the  Jesuit  fathers  did  not  contrib- 
ute to  allay.  In  161 3,  another  vessel  came  over, 
richly  provisioned,  and  bearing  a  reenforcement 
of  missionaries,  to  plant  a  second  station  on  the 
American  shore.  A  beginning  was  made,  on 
the  island  of  Mount  Desert,  off  the  coast  of 
Maine.  Both  settlements,  however,  were  speedi- 
ly destroyed  by  an  English  freebooter.  Cruis- 
ing in  these  waters  at  the  time  of  the  arrival  of 
the  second  colony  from  France,  Samuel  Argall, 
afterwards  deputy-governor  of  Virginia,  landed 
upon  the  island  of  Mount  Desert,  made  prison- 
ers of  the  French,  took  possession  of  their  ves- 
sel, and  then — guided,  it  has  been  said,  by  one  of 
the  Jesuit  fathers,  out  of  malice  against  the  pro- 
prietor of  Port  Royal — proceeded  to  the  older 
settlement  of  De  Poutrincourt,  and  laid  the 
place  in  ashes. 


Chap.  I. 

1611. 

January, 


Mount 
Desert. 


^^ 


i', 


1 06 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


V 


The 


11 


1 


Chap.  I.  Acadia  was  now  lost  to  the  Jesuits  ;  and  some 
1613-  time  must  yet  elapse  before  they  could  obtain 
1621  possession  of  Canada.  The  commercial  interests 
of  France  were  still  controlled  largely,  as  they 
continued  to  be  for  many  years,  by  Huguenot 
merchants ;  and  in  order  to  the  prosecution 
of  the  important  trade  with  the  New  World,  the 
capital  and  enterprise  of  the  great  companies  of 
La  Rochelle,  Rouen  and  Dieppe  were  indispen- 
sably needed.  Hence,  though  the  Prince  of 
Conde  was  succeeded  as  viceroy  of  New  France 
by  the  Duke  of  Montmorency,  an  open  enemy  of 
the  Huguenots,  no  attempt  was  made  as  yet  to 
exclude  them  from  the  colonies. 

In  1 62 1,  the  duke,  dissatisfied  with  the  man- 
agement of  the  trade  with  Canada,    conferred 

Montmsr*  the  monopoly  of  that  trade  upon  a  body  of  mer- 
®°°^'  chants  to  be  known  as  the  Compagnie  Montmor- 
ency. At  the  head  of  this  company  was  Guill- 
aume  de  Caen,  sieur  de  la  Mothe,  a  Huguenot 
of  Dieppe.'  De  Caen  was  at  once  an  enter- 
prising merchant  and  an  experienced  navigator. 
Bred  to  the  sea,  he  had  already  made  many  a 
trip,  under  his  father's  direction,  to  the  banks  of 
Newfoundland.  His  able  administration  soon 
raised  the  new  company  to  a  height  of  prosperity 
such  as  none  of  its  predecessors  had  reached. 
Royal  favors  were  showered  upon  it.  Privilege 
after  privilege  was  granted,  in  utter  disregard 
of  the  rights  previously  conferred  upon  the 
older  associations.     A  fleet  was  created  for  its 

'  Son  of  Guillaume  de  Caen  and  Marie  Langlois  his  wife, 
(Gosselin:  Nouvelles  Glanes  Historiques  Normandes.) 


GUILLAUME  DE  CAEN. 


107 


service,  with  De  Caen  as  its  admiral,  under  the 
title  of  General  of  the  Fleet  of  New  France. 
Secure  of  government  patronage,  the  company 
spent  vast  sums  in  building  ships  and  store- 
houses, and  in  1627  boasted  of  an  annual  rev- 
enue of  one  hundred  thousand  francs. 

Among  the  conditions  upon  which  the  com- 
pany held  its  monopoly,  was  that  of  transport- 
ing to  Canada  and  there  maintaining  six  friars  of 
the  order  of  St.  Francis,  for  the  religious  instruc- 
tion of  the  colonists  and  the  natives.  De  Caen 
was  faithful  to  this  engagement,  but  he  claimed 
for  himself  and  for  his  fellow-religionists  all  the 
liberty  which  the  Edict  of  Nantes  secured  to 
them,  of  conducting  worship  according  to  the 
Reformed  rite.  No  great  objection  seems  to 
have  been  made  to  this,  until,  five  years  later, 
three  Jesuit  fathers  came  to  reenforce  the  band 
of  Franciscans.  De  Caen  and  his  fellow-traders 
gave  them  but  a  cold  reception.  True  to  their 
character,  the  new  comers  lost  no  time  in  stirring 
up  strife  with  the  hated  heretics.  Complaints 
were  made  to  the  viceroy  that  the  Huguenot 
sailors  at  Quebec  were  regularly  assembled  by 
order  of  De  Caen,  for  prayer,  and  the  singing  of 
psalms.  It  was  represented  that  even  Roman- 
ists in  the  company's  employ,  were  forced  to  be 
present  at  these  services.  The  most  objection- 
able part  of  this  heretical  worship,  was  the  sing- 
ing. The  followers  of  Loyola  especially  de- 
tested it.  Their  own  rule  exempted  them  from 
the  chants  and  other  choral  services  observed 
by   religious   orders    in    the    Roman    Catholic 


Chap,  I. 
1621. 


1626. 


The 
Jesuits 

enter 
Canada. 


'  it 


;.   f  f 


lii 


ill! 


1 08 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :    CANADA. 


Chap.  I. 
1626. 


■^^Idi 


i; 


Church.  "  They  do  not  sing,"  said  the  enemies 
of  the  Jesuits  ;  "  birds  of  prey  never  do."  '  The 
governor  of  Quebec  was  instructed  to  forbid 
these  disorderly  practices.  No  public  saying  of 
prayers  or  singing  of  psalms  M^as  to  be  tolerated 
on  the  river  St.  Lawrence.  But  the  company's 
men,  and  especially  the  crews  of  their  vessels, 
( refused  to  comply  with  these  orders,  and  threat- 
ened mutiny.  "  At  last,"  says  Champlain,  "  it 
was  agreed  that  they  might  meet  to  pray,  but 
should  not  sing  psalms.  A  bad  bargain,  yet  it 
was  the  best  we  could  do." 

But  the  time  was  now  drawing  near,  when  the 
powerful  Society  of  Jesus  could  carry  its  plans  in- 
to effect,  and  Canada,  closjd  against  heresy, 
could  be  held  as  an  exclusive  field  of  missions 
Company  foj.  th^  Church  of  Rome.  Another  change  in  the 
vice-regency  of  New  France  took  place ;  and 
Montmorency  was  succeeded  by  his  nephew,  the 
young  Duke  de  Vf^ntadpur.  At  once,  the  new 
viceroy,  who  was  a  devoted  friend  of  the  Jesuits, 
sent  over  five  members  of  the  order.  A  few 
months  later,  the  monopoly  of  trade  was  with- 
drawn from  the  Huguenot  De  Caen,  and  a  com- 
pany was  formed,  to  be  known  as  the  Company 
of  New  France.  At  the  head  of  this  organization, 
upon  which  exclusive  commercial  and  proprietary 
rights  were  conferred,  was  Cardinal  Richelieu,  the 
energetic  and  sagacious  minister  of  Louis  the 
Thirteenth.  In  return  for  the  extraordinary 
privileges  and    powers    granted  to  it,  the  com- 

'  Miscellanies,  by  William  R.  Williams.     The  Jesuits  as  a 
Missionary  Order.     New  York:  1850.     P.  175. 


New 
France, 


HUGUENOT  SETTLERS  EXCLUDED.       109 

pany  bound  itself  to  transport  emigrants  to  the  cup.  i. 
New  World,  to  give  them  lands,  and  to  main-  1627, 
tain  them  for  three  years  after  their  arrival.  But 
every  emigrant  must  profess  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith.  From  this  vast  region — the  whole  conti- 
nent of  North  America,  as  claimed  by  France 
— heresy  was  to  be  rigidly  and  forever  excluded. 

To  the  statesman  and  to  the  Jesuit  alike,  this 
exclusion  appeared  a  master-stroke  of  policy. 
Richelieu,  who  had  but  lately  taken  his  place  in 
the  royal  council,  was  already  maturing  his  plans 
for  the  depression  of  the  Huguenot  power  in 
France.  At  this  moment  he  was  engaged  in  re- 
ducing La  Rochelle,  the  political  center  of  that 
power,  with  "whose  fall,  a  few  months  later,  the 
hopes  of  the  party  were  to  be  extinguished.  The 
time  had  not  yet  come  for  a  legalized  and  sys- 
tematic persecution  of  the  adherents  of  the  Re- 
formed faith.  But  meanwhile  it  was  the  object 
of  the  government  to  weaken  and  humiliate  them. 

To  throw  open  the  colonies  to  the  Calvinists,  

with  their  superior  thrift  and  enterprise,  would 
be  to  offer  them  enlarged  opportunities  of  en- 
richment and  advancement.  Oii  the  other  hand, 
their  exclusion  would  increase  the  odium  which 
it  was  for  the  interest  of  the  king  to  connect 
with  the  Huguenot  name. 

The  Jesuits,  equally  anxious  to  extirpate 
heresy  at  home,  and  to  shut  it  out  from  their  Jesuits, 
mission  fields  abroad,  hailed  this  measure  as  a 
signal  triumph.  By  a  curious  coincidence,  their 
recall  to  power  had  followed  closely  upon  the 
grant  made  to  De  Monts  for  the  settlement  of 


Trinmph 
of  the 


':! 


li 


in 


I  lO 


UNDER  THE  EDICT:  CANADA. 


il 


I  : 


Chap.  I.  New  France.  They  had  viewed  with  an  evil  eye 
1677.  ^^^  broad  provisions  of  that  grant,  which  con- 
tained no  discrimination  in  favor  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,  but  admitted  Huguenots  to  the 
privilegesof  trade  and  the  ownership  of  land,  upon 
the  same  footing  with  the  sons  of  the  true  Church. 
The  Jesuit  historian  Sagard  deplores  the  spirit 
of  toleration  and  indifference  that  was  exhibited 
Toleration  by  the  first  settlers  under  De  Monts'  charter,  and 
*^"  '  relates  an  incident  that  illustrates  at  once  their 
rough  pleasantry,  and  their  freedom  from  relig- 
ious animosity.  "  It  happened  in  the  course  of 
those  beginnings  of  the  French  in  Acadia '  that  a 
priest  and  a  minister  died  about  the  same  time. 
The  sailors  who  buried  them  laid  them  both  in 
one  grave,  to  see  if  they  who  could  not  agree 
whilst  alive  would  dwell  together  in  peace  when 
dead.  In  short,"  he  adds,  "  everything  was 
made  a  matter  of  jest.  The  undevout  Catholics 
readily  accommodated  themselves  to  the  humor 
of  the  Huguenots  ;  and  these  malicious  heretics 
kept  on,  unrestrained,  in  their  loose  way  of  liv- 
ing."' 

A  better  feeling  had  sprung  up  in  France 
between  the  adherents  of  the  two  religions,  at 
the  close  of  the  civil  wars.  The  Edict  of  Nantes 
imposed  some  restraint  upon  the  virulence  of  the 
Roman  clergy ;  and  the  banishment  of  the 
Jesuits  had  already  removed  for  the  time  the 
most  zealous  agents  of  religious  agitation.      An 

* "  En  ces  commencemens  que  les  Franyois  furent  vers 
I'Acadie." 

'  Sagard,  Histoire  du  Canada,  I.,  p.  a6. 


lil 


NO  COMPROMISE  WITH  HERESY. 


Ill 


old  writer,  depicting  the  state  of  things  then 
prevalent,  tells  us  that  at  Caen,  in  Normandy, 
"  Catholic  and  Huguenot  lived  side  by  side  in 
a  perfect  understanding.  They  ate  together, 
drank  together,  played  together,  enjoyed  each 
other's  society,  and  parted  company  without  the 
slightest  offense,  the  one  to  go  to  mass,  the  other 
to  attend  preaching."  '  The  return  of  the  fathers 
from  their  temporary  exile  broke  up  these  amica- 
ble relations.  Though  in  Caen,  as  in  many  other 
places,  a  strong  opposition  was  made  by  Catholics 
and  Protestants  alike,  to  their  admission,  yet  no 
sooner  had  this  opposition  been  overcome,  than 
the  presence  of  the  order  was  felt  in  sowing  dis- 
cord and  fomenting  strife.  The  reign  of  good 
feeling  was  at  an  end.  Awaiting  the  time  when 
severer  means  could  be  used  to  crush  out  heresy 
in  the  land,  the  Jesuits  employed  themselves  in 
rousing  the  popular  mind  to  suspicion,  envy,  and 
bitter  resentment.  Frequent  infractions  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes  occurred.  The  government  it- 
self, whilst  professing  to  maintain  the  Edict, 
winked  at  many  violations  of  its  provisions. 

In  the  meantime,  no  compromise  with  heresy 
must  be  suffered,  in  that  vast  territory  which  the 
Jesuits  now  controlled  in  the  New  World. 
Canada  was  to  be  the  patrimony  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  Its  savage  population  must  be  won 
to  the  true  faith,  through  the  labors  of  an  army 
of  devoted  missionaries,  trained  in  the  school  of 


Chap.  I. 

1627. 


U.'i 


'  Essai  sur  I'histoire  de  1'  Eglise  r^formde  de  Caen,  par 
Sophronyrne  Beaujour.     Caen  ;  1877.  P.  208. 


W  I 


112 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


li 


I 


;  .1 


ti 


1621. 


ii  Hi 


Chap.  I.    Ignatius  Loyola.     And  the  coming  generations 
1627.     of  its  colonists  must  be  shielded  from  the  malign 
influences  that  had   been    at   work    in    France, 
ever  since  the  days  of  Calvin. 

At  the  last  moment,  however,  the  prize 
England  seemed  about  to  elude  the  hands  that  were 
"iSts.  *  stretched  out  to  grasp  it.  Heretic  England  en- 
tered the  lists  for  the  acquisition  of  Canada. 
While  Richelieu  was  organizing  the  Company 
of  New  France,  a  project  was  entertained  at  the 
British  court,  having  in  view  the  conquest  of  the 
French  possessions  in  the  western  hemisphere. 
England  still  claimed  the  North  American  con- 
September  tinent  by  right  of  discovery  :  and  in  162 1,  James 
the  First,  acting  upon  this  assumption,  made 
over  to  one  of  his  subjects,  a  Scottish  gentle- 
man, Sir  William  Alexander — afterward  Earl  of 
Stirling — the  whole  territory  east  of  the  St.  Croix 
river,  and  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  grant 
included  all  Acadia  ;  and  the  peninsula,  with  the 
lands  conveyed  on  the  main  —now  forming  the 
province  of  New  Brunswick — was  to  be  known 
as  Nova  Scotia.  For  severjl  years,  however, 
little  was  done,  either  by  the  king  or  by  the 
nobleman,  to  make  good  these  pretensions  to  a 
region  already  held,  and  held  with  a  clearer  title 
certainly,  by  the  French.  France  and  England 
were  at  peace ;  and  the  question  of  proprietor- 
ship in  a  distant  wilderness  was  not  important 
enough  to  provoke  a  conflict.  But  in  1627  a 
sudden  war — soon  to  terminate — broke  out. 
Charles  the  First,  declaring  himself  the  protec- 
tor of  the  persecuted  Protestants  of  France,  sent 


Chap.  I. 
1627. 


on. 


EXPEDITION  TO  CONQUER  NEW  FRANCE.  1 13 

a  fleet  under  the  command  of  his  favorite  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  for  the  relief  of  La 
Rochelle,  then  blockaded  by  the  troops  of  Louis 
XIII.  The  ill-contrived  and  ill-conducted  expe- 
dition ended  ignominiously.  Buckingham  was 
no  match  for  Richelieu.  The  starving  inhabi- 
tants of  La  Rochelle  saw  a  second  and  a  third 
fleet  approach  their  city  only  to  sail  away  after  a 
few  feeble  demonstrations  ;  and  on  the  twenty- 
eighth  day  of  October,  1628,  La  Rochelle 
wa5  taken. 

Better  success  attended  another  enterprise  of  Huguenots 
the  English  in  the  course  of  the  same  brief  war.  ^^  g^A^® 
The  patentee  of  Nova  Scotia,  Sir  William 
Alexander,  saw  the  opportunity  to  obtain  pos- 
session of  his  grant  ;  and  under  his  auspices,  a 
squadron  was  fitted  out  for  the  conquest  of  New 
France.  It  was  easy  to  find  good  material  for 
the  expedition.  England  was  now  the  refuge  of 
many  brave  Huguenot  seamen  and  soldiers,  well 
qualified,  and  more  than  ready  for  such  an  adven- 
ture. 

Among  the  refugees  were  three  brothers,  David, 
Louis,  and  Thomas  Kirk,  natives  of  Dieppe  in 
Normandy.  To  David,  as  admiral,  the  com- 
mand of  the  expedition  was  given,  his  brothers 
serving  under  him.  The  sailing  master  was  one 
Jacques  Michel,  a  "  furious  Calvinist,"  who  had 
b'^en  in  the  employ  of  Guillaume  de  Caen,  and 
was  forward  in  promoting  the  present  enterprise. 
Many  other  Huguenots  joined  it,  all  eager  for 
the  conquest  of  New  France.  Acadia  fell  an 
easy  prey  to  the  invaders.     After  taking   pos- 


\ 


!  i; 


!fni 


I  ■; 


11 


i;l 


I! 


Chap.  I. 
1628. 


Quebec, 
taken. 


114 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


session  of  Port  Royal,  and  capturing  a  French 
fleet  on  its  way  to  Canada  with  supplies  for 
Champlain's  colony,  Kirk  returned  to  England 
with  flying  colors,  and  the  next  year  sailed  for 
the  St.  Lawrence.  Anchoring  with  the  body  of 
his  fleet  at  the  port  of  Tadoussac,  the  commander 
sent  his  brother  Louis  up  the  river,  with  three 
ships,  for  the  capture  of  Quebec.  The  little  fort, 
held  by  a  mere  handful  of  soldiers  under  Cham- 
plain,  and  utterly  without  provisions,  was  in  no 
condition  to  withstand  an  assault.  On  the  twen- 
tieth day  of  July,  1629,  Quebec  surrendered. 
The  Huguenot  officer  in  command  of  the  English 
force  took  possession  of  the  place ;  and  the 
Jesuit  fathers,  who  had  lately  come  to  occupy  the 
mission  field  which  they  hoped  to  secure  against 
the  intrusion  of  heresy,  found  themselves  prison- 
ers in  the  hands  of  the  very  men  against  whom 
they  purposed  to  close  Canada  forever. 

The  war,  however,  was  already  over,  and  peace 
had  been  signed  between  France  and  England 
three  months  before  the  capture  of  Queb.'^c. 
Canada  must  revert  to  its  original  proprietors  ; 
and  after  three  years  of  negotiations,  during 
which  Louis  Kirk  remained  in  command,  the 
English  yielded  Quebec  to  the  French.  The 
Huguenot  governor  won  the  respect  and  confi- 
dence of  the  inhabitants  by  his  lenient  course, 
and  his  courteous  manners.  He  was,  according 
to  Champlain,  a  thorough  Frenchman,  though  the 
son  of  a  Scotchman  who  had  married  in  Dieppe  ; 
and  he  did  all  in  his  power  to  induce  the  French 
families,  whose  company  he  p'-eferred  to  that  of 


v^ 


irM'.r 


CANADA  REVERTS  TO  FRANCE. 


115 


the  English,  to  remain  in  Quebec.  He  permitted 
the  Jesuit  fathers  to  say  mass,  and  entertained 
them  at  his  table,  to  the  great  displeasure  of  his 
sailing  master  Captain  Michel,  who  couldscarcely 
restrain  himself  from  coming  to  blows  with  the 
members  of  the  hated  fraternity.  The  death  of 
this  stubborn  heretic,  which  occurred  a  few  days 
later,  was  regarded  as  a  judgment,  in  view  of  his 
violent  abuse  of  "the  good  father.*:  ;"  and  dying 
in  his  pretended  religion,  I  do  not  doubt,  says 
Champlain,  that  his  soul  is  now  in  hell.' 

Singularly  enough,  the  agent  whom  France 
now  appointed  to  receive  back  her  American 
province,  was  likewise  a  Huguenot.  This  agent 
was  Emery  de  Caen,  the  son''  of  Guillaume,  sieur 
de  la  Mothe.  Emery  had  been  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  company  holding  the  monopoly 
of  the  Canadian  fur-trade  ;  and  to  indemnify  him 
for  the  losses  he  had  sustained  in  the  late  war, 
he  was  permitted  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  that 
monopoly  during  a  single  year.  At  the  expira- 
tion of  this  term,  the  Company  of  New  France 
entered  upon  the  full  possession  of  its  rights. 

It  was  on  the  twenty-third  day  of  May,  1633, 
that  Champlain,  again  appointed  governor,  :00k 

'  Voyage  de  Champlain,  II.,  p.  313.  "  Deux  ou  trois  jours 
apres  ledit  Jacques  Michel  estant  saisid'un  grand  assoupisse- 
nient  fut  35  heures  sans  parler,  au  bout  duquel  temps  il 
mourut  rendart  I'ame,  laquelle  si  on  peut  juger  par  les 
oeuvres  et  actions  qu'il  a  faites,  et  qu'il  fit  le  jour  auparavant; 
et  mourant  en  sa  religion  pretendue,  je  ne  doute  point 
qu'elle  ne  soit  aux  enfers." 

'  The  First  English  Conquest  of  Canada,  with  some 
account  of  the  Earliest  Settlements  in  Nova  Scotia  and  New- 
foundland.    By  Henry  Kirk,  M.A.     London,  187 1.     P.  69. 


Chap.  I. 
1629. 


ill 


1632. 


Ill 


i 


Chap.  I. 

1633. 

May 
23. 


8i  i-: 


\ 


The 
doom 
pronounc- 
ed. 


116 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   CANADA. 


from  the  hands  of  the  Protestant  De  Caen,  the 
keys  of  the  fort  of  Quebec.  Two  Jesuit  mission- 
aries, who  had  come  over  with  De  Caen,  were 
already  in  possession  of  their  convent,  built 
shortly  before  the  capture  of  the  place  by  Kirk. 

From  this  time  forth,  Canada  was  formally 
closed  to  the  Protestant  colonist.  The  heretic 
trader  continued  t  be  tolerated,  but  he  was 
jealously  watched,  and  restricted  in  his  inter- 
course with  the  inhabitants.  The  privilege  of  a 
permanent  residence  was  e*"anted  to  none  but  to 
Frenchmen  professing  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 

In  this  prohibition,  religious  intolerance  pro- 
nounced the  doom  of  the  French  cplonial  system 
in  America.  The  exclusion  of  the  Huguenots 
from  New  France,  was  one  of  the  most  stupen- 
dous blunders  that  history  records.  The  re- 
pressive policy  pursued  by  the  French  govern- 
ment for  the  next  fifty  years,  culminating  in  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  tended  more 
and  more  to  awaken  and  to  strengthen  among 
the  Protestants  a  disposition  to  emigrate  to 
foreign  lands.  Industrious  and  thrifty,  and 
anxious  at  any  sacrifice  to  enjoy  the  liberty  of 
conscience  denied  them  at  home,  they  would 
have  rejoiced  to  build  up  a  French  state  in  the 
New  World.  No  other  desirable  class  of  the 
population  of  France  was  inclined  for  emigra- 
tion. It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  from 
time  to  time  the  feeble  colony  could  be  re- 
cruited, at  vast  expense,  and  with  inferior 
material.  Meanwhile,  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
expatriated  Huguenots  carried  into  the  Protest- 


THE  LOSS  TO  CANADA. 


117 


ant  countries  of  Northern  Europe,  and  into  the   chap.  i. 
British  colonies  of  America,  the  capital,  the  in-     1633. 
dustrial  skill,  the  intelligence,  the  moral  worth, 
that    might  have    enriched  the   French    posses- 
sions, and  secured   to  the  Gallic  race  a  vast  do- 
main upon  the  North  American  continent/ 
There   is  reason  to  believe  that  in  spite  of 

'  The  enlightened  author  of  the  Histoire  du  Canada  depuis 
sa  Decouverte  jusqu'  a  nos  Jours,  has  fully  recognized  the 
greatness  of  this  mistake.  "  Le  dix-septieme  siecle  fut  pour 
la  France  I'epoque  la  plus  favorable  pour  coloniser,  a  cause 
des  luttes  religieuses  du  royaume,  et  du  sort  des  vaincus, 
assez  triste  pour  leur  faire  desirer  d'  abandonner  une  patrie 
qui  ne  leur  presentait  plus  que  I'image  d'  une  persecution 
finissant  souvent  par  I'  echafaud  ou  le  biicher.  Si  Louis 
XIIL  et  son  successeur  eussent  cuvert  1'  Am^rique  £l  cette 
nombreuse  classe  d'hommes,  le  Nouveau  Monde  conipterait 
aiijourd'hui  un  empire  de  plus,  un  empire  fran9ais  !  .  .  .  . 
Richelieu  fit  done  une  grande  faute,  lorsqu'il  consentit  k  ce 
que  les  protestans  fussent  exclus  de  la  Nouvelle-France  ; 
s'  il  fallait  expulser  une  des  deux  religions,  il  aurait  mieux 
vallu,  dans  1'  interet  de  la  colonic,  faire  tomber  cette  exclu- 
sion sur  les  catholiques  qui  ^migraient  peu  ;  il  portait  un 
coup  fatal  au  Canada  en  en  fermant  1'  entree  aux  Huguenots 
d'  une  mani&re  formelle  par  1'  acte  d'  ^tablissement  de  la 

compagnie  des  cent  associ^s Le  systeme  colonial 

frangais  eOt  eu  un  rdsultat  bien  different,  si  on  edt  leve  les 
entraves  qu'  on  mettait  pour  Eloigner  ces  sectaires  du  pays, 

et  si  on  leur  en  elit  laiss6   les  portes  ouvertes Et 

pourtant  c'  ^tait  dans  le  temps  meme  que  les  Huguenots 
sollicitaient  comme  une  faveu'-  la  permission  d'  aller  s'  etab- 
lir  dans  le  Nouveau-Monde,  oti  ils  promettaient  de  vivre  en 
paix  a  r  ombre  du  drapeau  de  leur  patrie,  qu'ilsnepouvaient 
cesser  d'  aimer  :  c'etait  dans  le  temps,  dis-je,  qu'  on  leur 
refusait  une  prifere  dont  la  realisation  e(it  sauve  le 
Canada,  et  assure  pour  toujours  ce  beau  pays  ^  la  France. 
Mais  Colbert  avait  perdu  son  influence  ^  la  cour,  et  etait 
mourant.  Tant  que  ce  grand  homme  avait  eteau  timon  des 
affaires,  il  avait  prot^g^  les  calvinistes  cjui  ne  troublaient 
plus  la  France,  mais  1'  enrichissaient." — Histoire  du  Canada 
depuis  sa  D^couverte  jusqu'  c\  nos  Jours.  Par  F.  X. 
Garneau.    Quebec:  1845.    Tome  L,  pp.  155,  156,  157,  493. 


tyl 


iiiiiii 


ii 


ll 


ii8 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


Chap.  I.  prohibitory  laws  and  ecclesiastical  vigilance, 
1633.  Huguenot  settlers  succeeded  from  time  to  time 
in  establishing  themselves  in  Canada.  We  may 
infer  as  much  from  the  boasted  success  of  the 
Jesuits  in  their  efforts  to  convert  heretics  whose 
presence  in  the  colony  was  detected.'     Sixteen 

'  Tanguay,  Dictionnaire  G^nealogique  des  Families  Cana- 
diennes,  depuis  la  fondation  de  la  colonie  jusqu'  k  nos 
jours,  mentions  the  following  instances  of  abjuration  prior  to 
the  year  1700  : 

David  Beaubattu,  baptized  1668,  son  of  Jean  Beaubattu 
and  Marie  Champagne,  of  Lairac,  [Layrac,]  near  Agen, 
[Lot-et-Garonne].  Soldier  in  the  company  of  M.  de  Muy. 
Abjured  Calvinism,  Jan.  6,  1686,  at  Pointe-aux-Trembles, 
Quebec. 

Franfois  Bibaud,  baptized  1642,  son  of  Frangois  Bibaud, 
of  La  Rochelle,  [a  Protestant :  comp.  La  France  Protest- 
ante,  s.  V.,]  was  living  in  Quebec  in  167 1. 

Charles- Gabriel  Chalifour,  born  in  1636  in  La  Rochelle, 
after  spending  some  years  in  New  England,  went  to 
Montreal,  where  he  abjured  Calvinism  and  was  baptized 
Dec.  26,  1699. 

Pierre  Champout,  son  of  Andr^  Champout  and  Marie 
Lavau,  of  St.  Germain  d'  Hemet,  in  Pdrigord,  diocese  of 
P^rigueux,  abjured  August  16,  1672,  at  Three  Rivers. 

Matthieu  Doucet,  miller,  baptized  in  1637,  came  from 
France  in  1656.  Made  abjuration  of  heresy.  Was  buried 
March  25,  1657,  at  Three  Rivers. 

Daniel  Fore,  son  of  Isaac  Fore  and  Anne  Tibault,  of  St. 
Jean  d'  Ang^ly,  diocese  of  La  Rochelle.  Soldier,  called 
Laprairie.     Made  abjuration  in  April,  1685. 

Francois  Fret^,  called  Lamothe,  baptized  in  1668,  of  La- 
motte  St.  Eloi,  diocese  of  Poitiers,  abjured  Calvinism,  June 
29,  1699,  in  Montreal. 

Isaac  Le  Comte,  tailor,  of  Linctot,  [Lintot,]  diocese  of 
Rouen  ;  a  Calvinist  converted  in  Canada  ;  buried  March  9, 
1635,  at  Three  Rivers. 

Daniel  P6pie,  called  La  Fleur,  soldier  in  the  company  of 
M.  Cahouac  ;  son  of  Jacques  P^pie  and  Isabelle  Fore,  of 
the  diocese  of  Xaintes.  Abjured  Calvinism,  March  4,  1685, 
in  Montreal. 

Jacques  Poissant,  called  Laselline,  soldier  in  the  company 


T 


PROTESTANTS  DETECTED  IN  THE  COLONY.  1 19 

were  discovered  in  a  regiment  of  regular  troops 
sent  over  by  the  government  in  1665  ;  and  the 
royal  intendant  hastened  to  inform  the  king  of 
their  speedy  conversion.  About  the  same  time, 
a  number  of  the  proscribed  religionists  were 
found  among  a  body  of  emigrants  who  landed  at 
Quebec.  We  read  in  the  Jesuit  "  Relations  "  an 
edifying  account  of  the  miraculous  change  ef- 
fected in  one  of  these  men,  through  the  pious 
ingenuity  of  a  hospital  nun.  "  I  cannot,"  writes 
Le  Mercier  to  the  Reverend  Father  Bordier, 
"  omit  the  mention  of  a  very  wonderful  act  of 
grace,  performed  upon  another  heretic,  one  of 
the  most  stubborn  of  those  whom  we  have  seen 
here.  He  was  entreated  repeatedly,  and  with  all 
possible  urgency,  in  order  that  his  heart  might 
be  touched,  and  that  he  might  be  made  to  see 
his  wretched  condition,  but  always  in  vain.  And 
not  only  was  he  unwilling  to  listen  to  the  holy 
and  charitable  solicitations  that  were  addressed 
to  him,  thrusting  them  from  him  with  indigna- 
tion, but  he  even  bound  himself  with  fresh  prot- 
estations to  die  sooner  than  to  abandon  the 
religion  to  which  all  his  relatives  were  attached. 
Nevertheless,  having  fallen  very  grievously  ill, 
he  was  carried,  like  others,  to  the  hospital ;  and 
there  the  good  nuns,  who  are  not  less  zealous  for 
the  salvation  of  the  souls  of  their  patients,  than 
anxious  for  the  health  of  their  bodies,  did  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  win  him  over.     One  of 

of  M.  De  Noyan,  son  of  Jacques  Poissant  and  Isabelle 
Magos,  of  Bourg-Marennes,  diocese  of  Xaintes.  Made  ab- 
juration in  April,  1685,  at  Pointe-aux-Trembles,  Montreal. 


Chap.  I. 
1665. 


A 

stubborn 
heretic. 


i^ :'-! 


ilpl 

rtift 


11' 


■  . 


1 20 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


Chap.  I. 
1665. 


Pulverized 
relics. 


i    i 


H  I 


rf-t 


them,  who  had  frequently  had  occasion  to  prove 
the  virtue  of  the  rehcs  of  the  deceased  Father  de 
Brebeuf,  (who  was  burned  some  years  ago  very 
cruelly  by  the  Iroquois  in  the  country  of  the 
Hurons,  while  engaged  in  the  endeavor  to  con- 
vert that  barbarous  people),  bethought  herself 
of  minelinsf — unknown  to  this  man — a  small 
quantity  of  these  relics,  reduced  to  powder,  in  a 
potion  which  she  was  about  to  administer  to 
him.  Wonderful  to  relate,  this  man  became  a 
lamb  ;  he  asked  that  he  might  receive  instruc- 
tion. He  admitted  into  his  heart  the  impres- 
sions of  our  Faith  ;  he  publicly  abjured  heresy, 
and  that  with  such  fervor  as  even  to  astonish 
himself.  And  to  crown  the  mercies  of  God  be- 
stowed upon  him,  he  received  health  for  the 
body  as  well  as  for  the  soul."  ' 

'  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en  la  Nouvelle  France  ^s 
annees  1664  &  1665  ;  envoyee  au  R,  P,  Provincial  de  la 
Province  de  France.  A  Paris,  chez  Sebastien  Cramoisy, 
M.  DC.  LXXVI.  Avec  Privilege  du  Roy.  Chapitre  dernier. 
Pp.  124,  126.  Au  Rd.  Pere  Jacques  Bordier.  Dated  a 
Kebec  le  3,  Novembre  1665. 

"  Je  ne  puis  pas  aussi  omettre  un  coup  de  la  grace,  bien 
merveilleux,  en  la  personne  d'  un  autre  Heretique,  des  plus 
opinionastres  que  nous  ayons  veus  ici.  On  le  sollicita  a 
plusieurs  reprises  &  avec  toutes  les  instances  possibles,  pour 
lui  toucher  le  coeur,  &  pour  lui  faire  voir  son  mal-heureux 
estat :  niais  toujours  en  vain.  Et  non  seulement  il  ne 
vouloit  pas  escouter  les  saintes  &  charitables  instances  qu'on 
lu^  faisoit,  les  rebutant  avec  indignation  mais  mesme  il 
s'engageoit  par  de  nouvelles  protestations,  a  niourir  plutost, 
que  de  quitter  la  Religion,  dans  laquelle  estoient  tous  ses 
parens.  Cepandant  estant  tombe  tres-grievement  malade, 
&  ayant  este  porte  i  1'  Hospital  comme  les  autres,  ces 
bonnes  Religieuses,  qui  n'ont  pas  moins  de  zele  pour  le 
salut  de  I'ame  de  leurs  malades,  que  d'  affection  pour  la 
sant^  de  leurs  corps,  faisoient  de  leur  cost^  tout  leur  possi- 


RELATIONS  WITH  LA  ROCHELLE. 


121 


The  commercial  relations  cf  the  colony  with  Chap.  i. 
La  Rochelle  increased  the  difficulty  of  exclud-  1664. 
ing  heresy  from  Canada.  That  ancient  strong- 
hold of  the  French  Protestants  had  lost  its 
military  consequence  :  but  it  retained  its  mari- 
time importance,  and  the  chief  part  of  its  wealth 
and  trade  were  still  in  the  hands  of  Huguenot 
capitalists.  Quebec  depended  upon  them  for 
its  principal  importations  :  and  the  yearly  visits  cf 
the  merchants  concerned  in  the  fur-trade  must 
needs  be  endured.  They  were,  however,  for- 
bidden to  exercise  their  religion  while  in  the 
colony ;  and  their  stay  was  strictly  limited.  jOTchants. 
Emigrants  from  La  Rochelle  were  looked  upon 
with  special  distrust.  For  a  time  they  were 
admitted  :  but  in  1664,  the  imperious  bishop 
Laval,  of  Quebec,  declared  that  he  wanted  no 
more  colonists  from  that  hot-bed  of  heresy.' 
(  Scarcely  less  obnoxious  to  the  clergy  than  the 
Protestant  settler  was  the  agent  or  factor  repre- 
senting  in    Canada    some    Huguenot    firm    in 


bles  pour  le  gagner.  Une  d'  entre-elles  ayant  souvent  ex- 
perimente  la  vertu  des  Reliques  de  feu  Pere  de  Brebeuf, 
\>xix\€  autrefois  tres-cruellement  par  les  Iroquois,  dans  le 
pais  des  Hurons,  lors  qu'il  travailloit  i  la  conversion  de  ces 
Barbares,  s'  advisa  de  mesler  a  son  insceu,  iin  peu  de  ces 
Reliques  pulverisees  dans  un  breuvage  qu'  elle  luy  fit  pren- 
dre. Chose  admirable  !  c^t  homme  devint  un  agneau,  il 
demande  a  se  faire  instruire  et  il  regoit  dans  son  esprit  at 
dans  son  coeur,  les  impressions  de  nostra  Foy  &  fait  pub- 
liquement  abjuration  de  1'  heresie,  avec  tant  de  ferveur,  que 
luy-mesmc  en  est  estonne  :  &  pour  comble  des  graces  de 
Dieu  sur  luy,  il  regoit  la  sant^  du  corps,  avec  celle  de 
r  ame." 

'  The   Old   Regime  in  Canada.     By  Francis   Parkman. 
P.  216. 


■  ^  -r 


k 


II 


it! 


122 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   CANADA. 


Chap.  I.  France.  The  bishop  of  Quebec  complains  in 
1670.  1670  that  these  persons  are  still  permitted  to 
come  into  the  province,  though  the  evil  effects 
of  their  presence  have  long  been  felt  and  made 
known  to  the  government.  These  effects  may 
be  seen  both  as  it  regards  religion  and  as  it  re- 
gards the  state.  On  the  side  of  religion  it 
must  be  observed  that  these  commercial  agents 
use  many  enticing  words,  that  they  lend  books, 
and  sometimes  hold  meetings  among  them- 
selves ;  and,  moreover,  to  the  bishop's  knowl- 
edge, there  are  people  who  speak  honorably  of 
these  men,  and  cannot  be  persuaded  that  they 
are  in  error.  Nor  is  the  matter  less  import- 
ant as  viewed  on  the  side  of  the  state.  For 
every  one  knowb  that  the  Protestants  are  in 
Dangerous  general  not  so  strongly  attached  to  his  Majesty 
of  BortoiL  ^^  ^^^  Catholics.  Quebec  is  not  very  far  from  Bos- 
ton and  from  other  English  towns.  To  multiply 
Protestants  in  Canada  would  contribute  at  some 
future  day  to  revolutions.  Those  who  are  here 
already  have  not  appeared  to  take  any  very 
special  interest  in  the  success  of  his  Majesty's 
arms.  On  the  contrary,  they  have  been  seen 
spreading  with  some  eagerness  the  intelligence 
of  every  slight  mischance  that  has  occurred.  A 
sufficient  remedy  would  be  applied  to  this  abuse 
if  French  merchants  were  forbidden  to  send 
over  Protestant  clerks.' 

'  "  L'Eveque  de  Quebec  represente  que  les  commerfants  de 
France  envoyent  des  commis  Protestans,  que  depuis  long- 
tems  le  clerg^  en  a  fait  connoitre  les  inconveniens  et  par  rap- 
port k  la  religion  et  par  rapport  a  I'Etat,      A  I'egard  de  la 


DESERTERS  TO  NEW  YORK. 


123 


1700. 


The  fact  that  the  persecuted  Huguenots  of  chap.  i. 
France  were  taking  refuge,  in  large  numbers,  in  1675- 
the  neighboring  English  colonies,  greatly  dis- 
turbed the  Canadian  government  and  clergy 
during  the  last  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Naturally  enough,  it  was  apprehended 
that  in  the  event  of  an  invasion  of  the  province, 
on  the  part  of  New  York  and  New  England, 
these  "  renegades,"  as  they  were  opprobriously 
styled,  would  be  among  the  foremost  assailants 
of  the  power  that  had  oppressed  them  in  the 
old  world.  Occasionally,  the  refugees  in  those 
colonies  were  joined  by  some  Protestant  com- 
patriot from  Montreal  or  Quebec.  Strict  laws 
were  passed  for  the  punishment  of  any  Cana- 
dians who  might  attempt  to  leave  the  country 
for  the  purpose  of  removing  to  Orange  or 
Manatte — as  Albany  and   New  York  were  still 


'i^ 


y\ 


i  'I 


religion,  I'Eveque  de  Quebec  assure  qu'ils  tiennent  plusieurs 
discours  seduisans,  qu'ils  pretent  des  livres  et  que  quelque- 
fois  meme  ils  se  sont  assembles  entr'eux  ;  qu'enfin  il  a 
connoissance  que  plusieurs  personnes  en  parlent  honorable* 
ment,  et  ne  peuvent  se  persuader  qu'ils  soient  dans  I'erreur. 
En  examinant  la  chose  du  cost^  de  I'^tat,  il  paroit  qu'elle 
n'est  pas  moins  importante.  Tout  le  monde  s^ait  que  les 
protestans  en  general  ne  sont  pas  si  attaches  a  sa  Majesty 
que  les  Catholiques.  Quebec  n'est  pas  bien  loin  de  Boston 
et  autres  villes  Anglois  :  multiplier  les  Protestans  dans 
Canada,  ce  seroit  donner  occasion  pour  la  suite  a  des  revo- 
lutions. Ceux  qui  y  sont  n'ont  pas  paru  prendre  une  part 
particuliere  au  succ^s  des  armes  de  Sa  Majesty  :  on  les  avfls 
repandre  avec  un  certain  empressement  tous  les  petits  con- 
tretems  arrives.  Une  defense  aux  commer^ans  Fran9ois 
d'envoyer  des  commis  Protestans  suffiroit  pour  remedier  d 
I'abus." — Mdmoirede  I'Eveque  de  Quebec  sur  les  Protestans, 
1670.  Massachusetts  Archives  :  French  Collections,  vol. 
II-,  P-  233. 


.1    t 


124 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :    CANADA. 


Mi 
•Ij 


Chapel,  called  by  the  French.  But  in  spite  of  royal 
^683.  edicts,  and  military  surveillance,  whole  families 
sometimes  succeeded  in  e^  :apin<^  to  the  En- 
glish. The  governor  of  Canada  wrote  home  in 
1683  :  "  There  are  at  present  over  sixty  of 
those  miserable  French  deserters  at  Orange, 
Manatte,  and  other  Dutch  places  under  English 
command." '  Some  years  later,  an  agent  of 
Massachusetts,  who  had  been  sent  to  Quebec 
for  the  purpose  of  effecting  an  exchange  of 
prisoners  with  the  Canadian  government,  found 
Protestant  there  "  several  French  Protestant  officers  and 
soldiers,"  who  had  "  a  great  desire  for  Protest- 
ant liberty,"  and  "to  be  under  the  English  pro- 
tection." These  men  were  only  deterred  from 
escaping  to  New  York  as  "being the  most  nigh, 
and  the  way  they  are  best  acquainted  with 
thither,"  by  the  fear  of  "  the  Maquas'  cruelty, 
who  have  already  murdered  several  in  making 
their  escape." ' 

Masters  of  the  arts  of  intrigue,  the  Jesuits  of 


soldiers 

in 
Canada. 


'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York.     Vol.  IX.,  p.  203. 

"  The  Information  of  Mathew  Carey  received  from  sever- 
all  ffrench  Protestants  officers  and  soldiers  at  Quebeck,  Oct. 
28,  1695. — Massachusetts  Archives,  A.  38.  This  informa- 
tion was  communicated  by  Lieutenant-governor  Stoughton, 
Nov.  25,  1695,  to  Governor  Fletcher  of  New  York. —  English 
Manuscripts  in  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  vol.  XL.,  pp.  100,  loi.  Governor  Fletcher,  in 
acknowledging  the  communication,  Dec.  3,  1695,  writes, 
"  It  is  the  first  time  I  heard  there  is  any  ffrench  Protestants 
in  Canada." — Mass.  Archives,  II.,  409.  In  the  margin  of 
Carey's  letter  occurs  the  name,  probably  that  of  one  of  the 
officers  referred  to,  "  Monsr.  Delarogtterie  Cap.  of  a  Marine 
detachmt."      (Nicolas  Lecompte  de    la    Ragotterie,  capi- 


FALSE  BRETHREN. 


"5 


1681. 


The 

Sieor 

Da 


Canada  had  their  agents  among  the  Huguenot  chap.  i. 
refugees  in  the  English  colonies  ;  and  one  of  1676- 
these,  it  would  seem,  was  Jean  Baptiste  de 
Poitiers,  sieur  Du  Buisson,  a  prominent  French 
resident  of  Harlem,  New  York,  between  the 
years  1676  and  1681.  The  accurate  hIstorlaR  of 
Harlem  mentions  him  as  "evidently  a  person  of 
character,  and  of  standing  and  influence  among 
the  refugees,"  taking  much  interest  in  their 
affairs  and  rendering  them  many  friendly  serv- 
ices.' It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  Sieur  Du 
Buisson  was  a  Canadian  spy  of  the  most  accom- 
plished type.'  Lord  Bellomont  had  him  in  Buiwon 
mind,  perhaps,  when  he  reported  to  the  British 
Board  of  Trade  in  1698:  "Some  French  that 
passed  for  Protestants  in  this  province  during 
the  war,  have  since  been  discovered  to  be 
Papists ;  and  one  would  suspect  their  business 
was  to  give  intelligence  to  Canada." 

Meanwhile  the  zeal  of  the  Canadian  clergy 
for  the  exclusion  and  suppression  of  heresy  had 

taine,  ^tait  a  Quebec  en    1695. — Tanguay,   Diet.   g^n.   des 
fam.  Canadiennes,  p.  362.) 

'  Harlem  (city  of  New  York) :  its  Origin  and  Early  Annals. 
By  James  Riker.     P.  416. 

'  Jean  Baptiste  du  Poitiers,  sieur  du  Buisson,  was  the 
son  of  Pierre  du  Poitiers  and  H^lene  de  Belleau,  of  St. 
Martin  d'Annecour,  diocese  of  Amiens.  In  1700  he  made 
declaration,  at  the  Seminary  of  St.  Sulpice,  that  he  had 
caused  several  of  his  children  to  be  baptized  in  certain 
heretical  countries  near  Menade  [New  York]  by  priests  who 
were  then  in  flight  because  of  persecution.  Meanwhile  he 
was  passing  for  a  Protestant.  It  appears  from  the  above 
declaration  that  he  resided  at  various  times  in  Flushing,  on 
Staten  Island,  in  Hotbridge  [?],  three  leagues  from  Menade, 
and  in  Esopus,  where  his   youngest  child  was  baptized 


!  i     :>.  -. 


n  n 


1*1 


\i 

ill 

is 


lli 


\h 


ij 


126 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  CANADA. 


I 


. 


i 

11 

ii       e  • 

11 

' 

\      \ 

L 

i 

Chap.  I. 
1686. 


Echoes 
of  the 

Bevoca- 
tion. 


been  stimulated  by  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes.  A  letter  of  Louis  XIV.  to  Governor 
de  Denonville,  in  the  spring  following  that  event, 
informed  him  of  the  brilliant  success  of  the  meas- 
ure, and  expressed  his  Majesty's  persuasion  that 
the  example  of  his  subjects  of  the  Pretended  Re- 
formed Religion  in  France,  all  of  whom  had  now 
abjured  their  heresy,  would  determine  those 
heretics  who  might  still  remain  in  Canada  to  do 
likewise.  If,  however,  there  should  be  found 
among  them  any  stubborn  persons  unwilling  to 
be  instructed,  the  governor  was  authorized  to 
quarter  his  troops  in  their  houses,  or  to  imprison 
them  ;  being  careful  to  accompany  this  rigorous 
treatment  with  the  necessary  provisions  for  their 
instruction,  and  to  concert  with  the  bishop  for 
this  purpose.  * 


{ondoyi)  by  a  Protestant  minister. — Tanguay,  Diet,  g^neal. 
des  fam.  Canadiennes,  s.  7;.— In  1693  he  was  sponsor  at  the 
baptism  of  two  children  of  Pierre  Montras,  who  had  re- 
nounced the  Roman  Ca*liolic  faith.  Riker,  p.  416.  Sus- 
picions were  entertained  during  his  stay  in  Albany,  in  1689, 
that  Du  Buisson  was  maintaining  "  a  secret  correspondence 
with  the  French "  in  Canada. — Riker,  416.  These  sus- 
picions must  have  been  allayed,  since  he  remained  several 
years  longer  in  the  province.  But  in  the  light  of  the  facts 
given  above,  they  seem  to  have  been  well  founded. 

'  Mdmoire  du  Roy  \  M.  de  Denonville,  Versailles,  le  31 
May,  1686.  *  *  *  Quoyque  Sa  Majesty  soit  persuadee 
qu'il  est  a  present  inform»6  de  I'heureux  succ^s  que  son  zele 
pour  la  conversion  de  ses  sujets  de  la  R.  P.  R.  a  eu,  elle  est 
bien  ayse  de  luy  faire  spavoir  qu'ayant  regu  des  advis  de 
toutes  les  provinces  de  son  Royaume  dansles  moisd'aoust  et 
de  Septembre  dernier  du  Grand  nombre  de  conversions 
qui  s'y  faisoient  des  villes  toutes  entieres  dont  presque  tous 
les  marchands  faisoient  profession  de  la  d.  Religion  I'ayant 
abjur^e  ;  cela  obligea  Sa  Majesty  k.  faire  publier  un  edit  au 


■1    :■.•- 


BERNON  IN  CANADA. 


127 


No  occasion  was  found  to  use  the  seventies 
thus  permitted.  The  governor  speedily  wrote 
to  his  royal  master,  assuring  him  that  there  was 
not  a  heretic  in  Canada.' 

One  of  the  effects  of  the  Revocation,  was  the 
exclusion  of  the  Huguenot  merchants  who  had 
so  long  been  tolerated  in  the  province  for  the 
sake  of  its  commercial  interests.  Henceforth  the 
Protestant  trader  could  remain  in  Quebec  only 
upon  condition  of  a  change  of  religion.  The 
principal  French  merchant  in  Canada  at  this 
time  was  one  Bernon,  who  had  done  great  service 
to  the  colony.  "  It  is  a  pity,"  wrote  Denonville, 
"  that  he  cannot  be  converted.  As  he  is  a  Hugue- 
not, the  bishop  wants  me  to  order  him  home  this 
autumn,  which  I  have  done,  though  he  carries  on 
a  large  business,  and  a  great  deal  of  money 
remaifis  due  to  him  here."  " 

mois  d'  Octobre  dernier  pour  revoquer  celuy  de  Nantes. 
Depuis  ce  terns,  Dieu  benissant  les  pieux  desseins  de  Sa 
Majesty,  tons  ses  sujets  qui  restoient  encore  dans  I'heresie 
en  ont  fait  abjuration  de  sort  que  Sa  Majesty  a  ^  present  la 
satisfaction  non  seulement  de  nevoir  plus  aucun  exercise  de 
cette  Religion  dans  ses  ^tats,  mais  meme  de  voir  tous  ses 
sujets  faire  profession  de  la  religion  Catholique.  Elle  est 
persuad^e  que  cet  exemple  determinera  les  heretiques  qui 
peuvent  estre  en  Canada  a  faire  la  meme  chose,  etelleespere 
que  le  dit  Sr.  de  Denonville  y  travaillera  avec  succes  ;  cepen- 
dant  si  dans  ce  nombre  il  s'en  rencontrait  quelques  uns 
d'opiniatres  que  refusassent  de  s'instruire,  il  peut  se  servir 
des  soldats  pour  niettre  garnison  chez  eux,  ou  les  faire  met- 
tre  en  prison,  en  joignant  a  cette  rigeur  le  soin  necessaire 
pour  les  instruire,  en  quoy  il  doit  agir  de  concert  avec 
lEvesque. — Massachusetts  Archives,  French  Collections,  vol. 
III.,  183. 

'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York.     Vol.  IX.,  Page  312. 

'  The  Old  Regime  in  Canada.     By  Francis  Parkman.    Pp. 


Chap.  I. 
1686. 


u 

[jlli 

i     1 

i   i 

;. 

1     ■ 

'  i 

i 

':'•'' 

■\ 


I 


ti 


Wtf 


128 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


Chap.  I. 
1603- 

1713- 


owners. 


Forbidden  to  land  on  the  shores  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  Huguenot  could  not  so  well  be 
shut  out  from  the  waters  of  that  great  Bay  of 
Fundy  which  had  first  been  visited  by  the 
Protestant,  De  Monts.  For  while  Canada  re- 
mained during  a  century  and  a  half,  almost  un- 
interruptedly, in  the  possession  of  France  and  of 
the  Jesuits,  Acadia,  more  accessible  to  commerce, 
and  more  exposed  to  the  fortunes  of  war,  was 
Changing  Passing  from  hand  to  hand  between  rival  claim- 
ants, French  and  English.  Five  times  within 
the  century  that  followed  Poutrincourt's  second 
settlement  at  Port  Royal,  the  peninsula  was 
seized  by  the  English  ;  '    each  time  to  be  ceded 

291,  292. — This  was  probably  Gabriel  Bernon,  of  La  Rochelle, 
who  afterwards  settled  in  Boston.  His  brother  Samuel, 
a  zealous  Romanist,  as  we  shall  see  in  another  chapter, 
continued  to  be  engaged  in  trade  with  Canada,  and  is 
spoken  of  by  La  Hontan,  (Nouveaux  Voyages,  p.  66),  as 
the  merchant  who  carried  on  the  most  extensive  business 
there.  (Le  Sieur  Samuel  Bernon  de  la  Rochelle  est  celui 
qui  fait  le  plus  grand  commerce  de  ce  pais-la.)  Gabriel's 
accounts,  drawn  up  in  1686,  before  his  flight  from  France, 
mention  a  sum  due  to  him  "  en  Canada  ;  "  and  after  his 
coming  to  Boston  he  maintained  relations  with  several 
prominent  French  officials  in  that  country. 

'  Acadia  was  feebly  held  by  the  French  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Port  Royal  by  Argall  in  1613,  and  that  place  was  re- 
built, and  was  occupied  until  the  year  1627,  when  Sir  David 
Kirk  took  possession  of  it.  By  the  treaty  of  St.  Germain-en- 
Laye,  March  29,  1632,  Acadia  was  ceded  back  to  France. 
In  1654,  Port  Royal  was  seized  by  a  British  fleet.  Negoti- 
ations for  the  restoration  of  the  province  to  France  were 
opened  the  next  year,  but  it  was  not  until  the  year  1667  that 
England,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  surrendered  her  acquisi- 
tion. In  1690  an  expedition  from  New  England  under  Sir 
William  Phips  captured  Port  Royal.  The  French  recovered 
it  in  the  course  of  the  same  year.  Another  New  England 
force,  under  General  Nicholson,  conquered  Acadia  in  17 10  ; 


DEALINGS  WITH  THE  PURITAN. 


129 


1713- 


back  after  a  few  years'  occupation  to  its  original  Chap.  i. 
proprietors;  until  in  1713  by  the  treaty  of  1603- 
Utrecht,  "all  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia"  was 
finally  secured  to  the  crown  of  England. 

Under  such  conditions,  heresy  could  not  be 
excluded  from  the  country,  even  during  those 
periods  when  it  formed  a  part  of  the  terri- 
tory of  New  F'rance.  The  strict  surveillance 
maintained  at  Quebec  over  the  traders  from  La 
Rochelle  and  Dieppe,  was  out  of  the  question  at 
Port  Royal  and  La  H^ve.  Maine  and  Massachu- 
setts were  near  neighbors  to  Acadia.  A  brisk 
run  of  twenty-four  hours  before  the  wind  brought 
the  Acadian  coaster  to  Casco  Bay  or  to  Boston.' 
And  with  the  free  intercourse  which  neither 
civil  nor  ecclesiastical  police  could  prevent, 
kindly  feelings  were  engendered,  and  social  re- 
lations were  constituted.  Even  the  Church  of 
Rome  relaxed  its  severe  features,  and  moderated 
its  harsh  tone,  under  the  softening  influences  of 
these  associations.  Far  removed  from  the  scrut- 
iny of  the  bishop  of  Quebec,  and  the  espionage 
of  the  Jesuits,  the  parish  priest  of  Acadia  tolera- 
ted the  presence  of  the  Huguenot  settler,  and 
sometimes  condescended  to  engage  in  trade 
for  himself,  with  the  Puritans  of  New  England. 

For  several  years  after  the  destruction  of 
Port  Royal  by  Captain  Argall,  in  16 13,  Acadia 
attracted    little    attention.       The    claim    which 


and  three  years  later,  by   the  treaty  of  Utrecht,   April    11, 
1 7 13,  the  province  was  finally  secured  to  Great  Britain. 

'  The  distance  from  Annapolis  to  Boston  is  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles. 


T? 


^Olf! 


iUu 


m 


m 


•  [ 


■i 


m 


1617- 
1620. 


130 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


ChtLV- 1  l^ad  been  violently  asserted  for  England  in  that 
1614,  piratical  act,  was  not  pressed.  The  French  con- 
tinued in  possession  of  Port  Royal,  and  kept 
up  their  fisheries  and  their  trade  in  peltries. 
Poutrincourt  remained  in  the  province,  consort- 
ing vvrith  the  friendly  Indians,  and  awaiting  more 
favorable  times  for  his  unfortunate  colony. 
About  this  time,  it  is  related,  a  French  Protest- 
ant, engaged  in  a  fishing  expedition  in  these 
waters,  was  driven  by  stress  of  weather  into 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  was  cast  ashore.  He 
found  the  coast  inhabited  by  numerous  tribes  of 
savages,  who  received  him  kindly,  and  among 
whom  he  lived  for  two  years.  Pitying  the 
dense  ignorance  of  these  heathen,  whom  he 
took  to  be  worshipers  of  the  devil,  the  zealous 
Huguenot  used  his  utmost  efforts  to  persuade 
them  to  embrace  Christianity,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose. At  length,  discouraged,  the  missionary 
turned  prophet,  and  warned  his  hearers  that  for 
their  obduracy  God  would  destroy  them.  Not 
long  after,  they  were  visited  by  an  epidemic 
that  continued  for  three  years,  and  swept  away 
almost  the  entire  Indian  population  for  sixty 
miles  along  the  coast.'     This  was  the  "wonder- 

'  Narrative  concerning  the  settlement  of  New  England, 
1630.  Papers  in  the  State  Paper  Department  of  the  British 
Public  Record  Office.  Vol.  V.  77.  (Calendar  of  Sta^e 
Papers.     Colonial,  1574-1660.     P.  iii). 

"About  16  yeares  past  an  other  ffrench  man  being  nere 
the  Massachusetts  upon  a  ffishing  voyage,  and  to  discover 
the  Bey,  was  cast  away,  one  old  man  escaped  to  shoare, 
whom  the  Indians  pserved  alive,  and  after  a  yeare  or  2,  he 
having  obteyned  some  knowledge  in  their  languadge  pceiv- 
ing  how  they  worshipped  the  Devill,  he  used  all  the  meanes 


EMIGRATION  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE.      131 

ful  plague,"  of  which   the    Pilgrim    Fathers  of   chap,  i. 
New  England  heard,  upon    their  arrival  a  few     1633- 
years    later   at    Plymouth,    and  which  they  de-     j(,yj 
voutly   regarded   as  a  providential  preparation 
"to  make  room  for  the  settlement  of  the  En- 
glish." ' 

The  feeble  remnant  of  Poutrincourt's  party 
that  continued  in  Acadia,  was  reenforced,  in  the 
year  1633,  by  forty  families  brought  over  from 
France.  These  families  settled  at  La  Heve, 
on  the  coast,  and  engaged  in  fishery  and  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  soil.  The  greater  number  of 
them  removed,  after  a  few  years,  to  Port  Royal, 
where  they  were  joined,  in  1638,  by  twenty 
families  more.  Still  another  body  of  settlers, 
consisting  of  some  sixty  individuals,  came  over 
in  the  year  1671.  All  these  colonists  were  from 
La  Rochelle  and  its  vicinity."     And  inasmuch 

he  could  to  pswade  them  from  this  horrible  Idolotrye,  to 
the  wop  :  [worship]  of  the  trew  God,  whereupon  the  Saga- 
more called  all  his  people  to  him,  to  know  if  they  would 
follow  the  advise  and  councell  of  this  good  old  man,  but 
all  answeared  with  one  consent  that  thei  would  not  change 
their  God,  and  mocked  and  laughed  at  the  ffrenchman  and 
his  God,  then  said  he  I  feare  that  God  in  his  anger  will  de- 
stroy you,  then  said  the  Sagamore  yo'  God  hath  not  thus 
manie  people  neither  is  he  able  to  destroy  us,  whereupon 
the  ffrenchman  said  that  he  did  verily  feare  his  God  would 
destroy  tljem  and  plant  a  better  people  in  the  land,  but  they 
contynewed  still  mocking  him  and  his  God  until  the  plague 
cam  wh  was  the  yeare  following,  &  continewed  for  3  yeares 
until  yt  God  swept  almost  all  the  people  out  of  that  country, 
for  about  60  miles  togeather  upon  the  sea  coast." 


77,  note. 


ir  aoout  00  miles  togeatner  upon  tne  sea  coast. 

'  Palfrey,  History  of  New  England,  vol.  I.,  p.  i 

'  The  History  of  Acadia,  from  its  first  Discovery  to  its 
Surrender  to  England  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris.  By  James 
Hannay.    St  John,  N.  B.,  1879,  pp.  128,  141,  282,  290,  291. 


i* 


llll'  :    • 


■I 


I 


III: 


1 

;        j   , 

1  1 

j            . 

il 

1 

I 

i 

•    ii 

i 

i 

if 

I 
t 

:! 
:1 

! 

i 

1 

'M. 

,          i 

,S 

132 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


Chap.  I.  as  the  population  of  Aunis,  and  the  adjoining 
1633-  provinces,  was  at  that  time  largely  Protestant, 
i5yi  and  the  Protestants  of  France  were  emphatically 
the  emigrating  class,  it  is  likely  that  many,  if 
not  most  of  the  emigrants,  previous  to  the  Rev- 
ocation, may  have  been  of  the  same  faith  with 
De  Monts,  the  founder  of  the  colony.  This 
would  seem  the  more  probable,  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  names 
of  Acadian  families,  believed  to  have  come  over 
at  this  period,  are  names  of  Protestant  families 
of  Aunis,  Saintonge,  and  Poitou.' 

There  was  one  of  these  Acadian  families, 
about  whose  Protestant  antecedents  there  can  be 
no  question,  and  which  was  destined  to  take  a 
prominent  part  in  the  history  of  the  colony.  Its 
founder  was  Claude  de  St.  Etienne,  sieur  de  la 
Tour.  He  is  said  to  have  been  allied  to  the 
noble  house  of  Bouillon.'  About  the  year  1609 
he  came,  a  widower,  with  his  son  Charles,  then  a 
boy  of  fourteen,  to  Port  Royal,  for  purposes  of 
trade,  having  lost  the  greater  part  of  his  estates 
in  the  civil  wars.  When  that  settlement  was 
broken  up,  in    161 3,  La  Tour  removed  to  the 

'  Such  as  Alain,  Barillot,  Beaumont,  Blanchard,  Bobin, 
Bobinot,  Boisseau,  Briand,  Cadet,  Chauvet,  Clemenceau, 
Commeau,  Cormie,  D'Amboise,  D'Amours,  Duguast,  Gou- 
jon,  Gourdeau,  Landry,  La  Tour,  Lourion,  La  Pariere, 
Morin,  Petiteau,  Petitpas,  Robichon,  Robin,  Roy,  Sibilleau. 
(Lievre,  Histoire  des  Protestants  du  Poitou,  passim.  La 
France  Protestante,  passim.  Crottet,  Histoire  des  Eglises 
reformees  de  Pons,  G^mozac  et  Mortagne,  en  Saintonge, 
passim.  Archives  Nationales,  Tt.  Compare  Hannay,  His- 
tory of  Acadia,  pp.  284-290. — Mass.  Archives,  II. ,  p.  540. 

*  Hannay,  History  of  Acadia,  p.  114. 


CHARLES  DE  LA  TOUR. 


^33 


1627. 


coast  of  Maine,  and  built  a  fort  and  trading  chap.  i. 
house  at  the  mouth  of  the  Penobscot  river,  1609- 
which  was  claimed  by  the  French  as  within  the 
limits  of  Acadia.  Here  he  continued  for  a 
number  of  years,  until  finally  dispossessed  by 
the  English  of  Plymouth. 

Meanwhile,  Charles  de  la  Tour,  now  a  bold 
and  active  youth,  had  formed  a  close  friendship 
with  young  Biencourt,  the  son  of  Poutrincourt, 
the  proprietor  of  Port  Royal.  Biencourt  had 
remained  in  Acadia  after  the  destruction  of  the 
settlement,  at  first  seeking  a  home  among  the 
Indians,  and  then  engaging,  with  a  few  com- 
panions, in  the  attempt  to  rebuild  the  trading 
post  whose  beginnings  had  been  so  unfortunate. 
The  two  friends,  nearly  of  the  same  age,  became 
inseparable;  and  when  in  the  year  1623,  Bien- 
court died,  he  appointed  Charles  his  successor  in 
the  government  of  the  colony,  bequeathing  to 
him  all  his  rights  in  Port  Royal.  » 

From  this  time  forth.  La  Tour  led  a  life  of 
extraordinary  vicissitude,  in  the  course  of  which 
he  displayed  immense  energy,  and  a  singular 
ability  to  v/in  the  confidence  and  secure  the  co- 
operation of  his  associates.  Having  fortified 
himself  in  a  stronghold  which  he  built  among 
the  rocks  near  Cape  Sable,  and  gained  the 
friendship  of  the  neighboring  savages,  he  as- 
pired to  something  more  than  the  position  of  a 
petty  chieftain  ;  and  in  1627  he  petitioned  Louis 
XHL  to  be  placed  in  command  of  the  province 
of  Acadia.  The  elder  La  Tour  undertook  the 
voyage  to  France,  for  the  purpose  of  presenting 


'  ■! 


Chap.  I. 
1627- 
1630. 


April 


134 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :    ACADIA. 


his  son's  request  and  of  urging  his  suit.  The 
mission  proved  successful,  and  Claude  was  on 
his  way  back  to  Acadia,  when  he  was  taken 
prisoner  by  an  English  man-of-war,  and  carried 
to  London.  Through  the  influence  of  some  of 
the  Protestant  refugees,  however,  he  was  soon 
released.  His  rank  as  a  Huguenot  nobleman 
brought  him  into  notice  at  the  court  of  Charles 
I.,  who  showed  him  marked  favor.  He  married 
one  of  the  maids  of  honor  of  Queen  Henrietta 
Maria  :  and  in  1630  he  returned  to  Acadia  a 
baronet,  with  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  of  land 
from  Sir  William  Alexander,  the  patentee  of 
Nova  Scotia,  who  was  now  about  to  renew  the 
attempt  to  effect  a  settlement  in  that  country. 
Equal  honors  and  benefits  were  to  be  conferred 
upon  Charles,  if  like  his  father  he  would 
own  allegiance  to  the  crown  of  England.  But 
this  he  utterly  refused  to  do.  Arriving  with 
two  armed  vessels  at  Cape  Sable,  Claude  de  la 
Tour  visited  his  son,  and  urged  him  to  surrender 
his  fort,  promising  him  that  he  should  continue 
to  hold  it  under  the  English  government,  and 
setting  forth  all  the  advantages  that  would  ac- 
crue to  him  by  this  exchange  of  masters.  Young 
La  Tour  replied,  professing  his  gratitude  to  the 
king  of  England  for  the  favor  he  was  disposed 
to  show  him,  but  declaring  that  he  could  not 
betray  the  trust  committed  to  him  by  his  royal 
master  the  king  of  France.  In  this  determina- 
tion he  remained  firm,  in  spite  of  the  remon- 
strances and  the  threats  of  his  father,  who  at 
length,  in  his  desperation,  undertook,  with  the  aid 


ii.«jii>:i>». 


INFLEXIBLE  LOYALTY. 


135 


Chap.  I. 
1630. 


of  the  soldiers  and  armed  seamen  at  his  com- 
mand, to  seize  the  fort  by  assault.  Charles  met 
force  with  force,  and  succeeded  in  repelling  his 
assailants,  who  retired  after  a  fierce  struggle,  in 
which  a  number  of  the  English  were  killed  and 
wounded.  Compelled  to  renounce  his  plans  for 
his  son's  advantage  as  well  as  for  his  own,  La 
Tour  withdrew  in  deep  mortification  to  Port 
Royal,  where  a  colony  of  Scotch  families  had 
been  planted  some  time  before  under  Sir 
William  Alexander's  patent.  The  next  year, 
however,  his  son  induced  him  to  come  and  take 
up  his  abode  near  the  fort,  where  a  comfortable 
house  was  provided  for  him.'  Soon  after,  by  the 
treaty  of  St.  Germain-en-Laye,  Acadia  was  ceded 
back  to  France,  and  Charles  de  la  Tour  was  per- 
mitted to  hold  the  office  of  lieutenant-general,  February 
to  which,  in  recognition  of  his  loyalty  and  cour-  .^gj 
age,  Louis  XIII.  had  appointed  him.  A  few 
years  later  he  received  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  January 
of  country  on  the  river  St.  John,  and  he  removed 
thither,  establishing  himself  in  a  fort  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  harbor. 

La  Tour  did  not  find  it  easy  to  retain  the  post 
that  he  had  coveted,  and  that  he  deserved  by  his 
fidelity.  A  rival  soon  appeared,  and  an  impla- 
cable enemy,  in  the  person  of  Charles  de  Menou 
d'Aulnay,  better  known  by  his  title  as  Sieur  de 
Charnise.  Charnise  had  acquired  possession  of 
a  part  of  Acadia,  including  the  lands  around  Port 

'  Description  G^ograpbique  et  Historique  des  Costes 
de  I'Am^rique  Septentrionale.  Par  M.  Denys.  Paris : 
MDCLXXn.     Pp.  68-71. 


16, 
1636. 


136 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


chieft&ins. 


Chap.  I.    Royal.      He  held  a  commission  similar  to  that 

1636-    of  La  Tour,  as  lieutenant-general  for  the  king. 

jg  Both  were  largely  engaged  in  the  fur-trade  and 
in  the  fisheries  of  the  province.  Their  interests 
conflicted  at  every  point :  and  Charnise,  a  man 
of  unscrupulous  ambition  and  unyielding  pur- 
pose, bent  all  his  energies  to  the  work  of  sup- 
planting and  ruining  his  opponent.  For  the 
next  fifteen  years  the  struggle  was  maintained, 
Charnise  persistently  seeking  by  intrigue  at  the 
court  of  France  to  procure  the  displacement  and 
arrest  of  his  rival,  and  to  obtain  the  means  for 
enforcing  the  orders  issued   to  that  effect  ;  and 

Eivai  La  Tour  appealing  at  one  time  to  his  co-religion- 
ists in  La  Rochelle,  and  at  another  time  to  his 
good  neighbors  in  New  England,  for  assistance 
in  defending  his  rights. 

Charles  de  la  Tour  had  married,  about  the 
year  1625,  a  lady  of  his  own  Huguenot  faith. 
Nothing  is  known  of  her  origin ;  but  it  would 
seem  probable  that  she  may  have  belonged  to 
some  Protestant  family  transplanted  at  an  early 
day  from  La  Rochelle  or  its  vicinity  to  Acadia. 
Madame  de  la  Tour  was  a  woman  of  heroic 
character.  Sharing  her  husband's  privations 
and  perils,  she  was  often  his  most  trusty  agent 
as  well  as  his  wisest  counselor.  At  a  time 
when  he  was  in  great  straits,  she  crossed  the 
ocean  to  La  Rochelle,  hoping  to  obtain  for  him 
the  assistance  of  his  Huguenot  friends.  Char- 
nise was  then  in  France,  and  hearing  of  her 
arrival,  procured  an  order  for  her  arrest,  but 
she  succeeded  in  making  her  escape  to  England. 


MADAME   DE  LA  TOUR. 


^2>7 


1645 


April 
18. 


There  she  freighted  a  ship  with  provisions  and  chap.i. 
munitions  of  war  for  her  husband's  relief,  and  1643- 
set  out  for  Acadia,  narrowly  escaping  capture 
by  one  of  Charnise's  vessels  on  the  homeward 
voyage.  At  another  time,  Madame  de  la  Tour 
was  left  in  charge  of  the  fort  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  St.  John,  during  her  husband's  absence, 
when  his  enemy's  ship  entered  the  harbor,  and 
summoned  the  feeble  garrison  to  surrender.  The 
heroic  woman  inspired  the  few  soldiers  at  her  dis- 
posal with  her  own  dauntless  courage.  For  answer 
to  the  summons,  the  guns  of  the  fort  opened 
an  effective  fire  upon  the  besiegers.  Twenty 
were  killed  and  thirteen  wounded,  and  the  ship 
itself  was  so  shattered  that  it  was  with  difficulty 
withdrawn  to  a  place  of  shelter.  Two  months 
later,  however,  Charnise  renewed  the  attack. 
This  time  the  approach  was  made  on  the  side  of 
the  land.  La  Tour  had  not  yet  returned,  and 
again  his  brave  wife  assumed  the  command. 
For  three  days  the  assailants  were  kept  at  bay. 
The  fourth  day  was  Easter  Sunday,  and  while 
the  garrison  were  at  prayers,  the  besiegers, 
through  the  treachery  of  a  sentinel,  were  ad- 
mitted within  the  palisades.  They  were  scaling 
the  walls  of  the  fort,  when  Madame  de  la  Tour, 
apprised  of  the  assault,  rushed  forth  at  the 
head  of  the  little  band  of  defenders,  who  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  back  the  enemy  with  great 
loss.  Charnise  now  offered  terms  of  capitula- 
tion. But  no  sooner  did  he  obtain  possession 
of  the  fort,  than  he  sentenced  the  whole  garri- 
son to  be  hanged.     IMadame  de  la  Tour  was 


^^^■■S'V  , 


H 


'  I 


138 


UNDER  THE  EDICT:  ACADIA. 


^Mi 


Chap.  I.  compcllecl  to  witness  the  execution  of  her  brave 
1645.  soldiers,  with  a  rope  around  her  own  neck.  The 
barbarous  Charnise  spared  her  life,  but  she  did 
not  long  survive  the  indignity  and  the  humilia- 
tion thus  endured.  Within  three  weeks  from 
the  time  of  the  capture,  this  noble  woman 
was  laid  to  rest  on  the  bank  of  the  St.  John 
river.'  Her  memory  has  long  bef*^  held  dear  in 
the  land  of  her  adoption  ;  and  t  cory  of  her 
courage  and  her  constancy  certaimy  deserves  to 
have  a  place  in  the  record  of  Huguenot  endu- 
rance and  achievement.' 

The  death  of  his  devoted  wife,  and  the  loss 
of  his  fort  and  his  lands  on  the  St,  John,  were 
strokes  of  misfortune  under  which  even  so  strong 
a  nature  aj;  that  of  Charles  de  la  Tour  could 
with  difficuiiy  bear  up.  His  rival,.  Charnise, 
was  now  triumphant,  and  for  the  next  five  years 
the  dispossessed  seig7ieur  of  Acadia  was  a  wan- 
derer in  Massachusetts,  New^  idland  and 
Canada.     But  in   the  height    o  ambitious 

career,  Charnis^  suddenly  died  ;  and  the  indom- 
itable La   Tour,  hastening   to    Paris,  obtained 

'  Description  G^ographique  et  Historique  des  Costes  de 
I'Amerique  Septentrionale.     Par  M.  Denys.     P.  40. 

'The  enemies  of  Charles  de  la  Tour,  in  the  charges 
which  they  brought  against  him  at  the  court  of  France,  did 
not  fail  to  make  use  of  the  fact  that  his  wife  was  a  staunch 
Protestant.  He  himself  appears  to  have  been  more  pliant 
in  his  religious  professions,  and  sometimes  conformed  to 
the  Church  of  Rome,  when  he  deemed  it  politic  to  do  so. 
He  continued,  however,  to  appeal  to  Boston  for  aid,  on  the 
score  of  his  Protestant  faith  (Palfrey,  History  of  New 
England,  II.,  144) ;  and  his  Huguenot  brethren  in  La  Ro- 
chelle  retained  their  warm  regard  for  him  to  the  last. 


1650. 


ACADIA  REVERTS  TO  FRANCE. 


139 


from  the  queen  a  renewal  of  the  commission  chap.  i. 
which  the  late  king,  Louis  XIII.,  had  given  him,  ,6^,. 
as  governor  and  lieutenant-general  in  Acadia. 
Soon,  however,  by  another  change  of  masters,  ^'^2b^^ 
the  province  reverted  to  England.  La  Tour 
surrendered  his  fort  to  the  vessels  of  Oliver 
Cromwell ;  but  again  his  ready  wit  and  his  ex- 
traordinary powers  of  persuasion  served  him, 
and  loss  was  converted  into  advantage.  Be- 
taking himself  to  England,  he  sought  an  inter- 
view with  Cromwell,  and  pleading  the  grant 
that  had  been  made  by  the  English  government 
twenty-five  years  before  to  his  father  and  him- 
self, under  Sir  William  Alexander's  patent,  he 
obtained  from  the  Protector  the  cession  of  a 
vast  territory,  including  the  whole  coast  of  the 
Bay  of  Fundy  on  both  sides,  and  extending  one 
hundred  leagues  inland.  The  next  year,  La 
Tour  sold  his  rights  to  a  portion  of  this  terri- 
tory, and  withdrew  from  public  life.  His  long 
and  cha  igeful  career  terminated  peacefully  in 
the  yea  1666,  when  he  died  at  the  age  of 
seventy-t\    >.' 

'  By  his  second  marriage,  Charles  de  la  Tour  had  two  sons 
and  three  daughters.  The  elder  son,  Jacques  de  St.  Etienne, 
born  in  i66r,  married  Anne  Melan^on,  and  lived  at  Cape 
Sable.  He  died  before  1688,  leaving  four  children.  The 
younger  son,  Charles,  born  in  1664,  lived  at  Port  Royal,  and 
was  not  married.  In  1696,  we  find  him  engaged  with  young 
Gabriel  Bernon,  son  of  the  refugee,  in  trade  between  Bos- 
ton, Portsmouth  and  Port  Royal.  He  was  arrested  in 
November  or  December  of  that  year,  when  about  to  pro- 
reed  from  Portsmouth  to  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia — just 
then  under  British  rule — and  his  sloop  was  condemned  as  a 
lawful  prize,  under  charge  of  having  violated  one  of  the 
provisions  of  the  oppressive  Navigation  Laws,  as  well  as  a 


AuRTUt 

1666. 


rMf^-. 

t 

■1 

■':'■ 

; 

i.  ;|i 

li 

i; 
i: 

li 

(  '•Hi 


I'M 


TTT 


140 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


Chap.  I.  In  the  century  following,  under  British  rule, 
171 1-  Acadia,  or  Nova  Scotia,  as  it  was  now  called, 
j-gQ  saw  another  Huguenot  occupying  the  chief 
office  in  the  province.  This  was  John  Paul 
Mascarene,  a  native  of  Castres  in  Languedoc: 
of  whose  parentage  and  early  Hfe  an  account 
will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  chapter.  Coming 
to  England  in  his  boyhood,  a  refugee  from  per- 
secution in  France,  Mascarene  was  naturalized 
in  the  year  1706,  and  received  a  lieutenant's 
commission  in  the  British  army.  !n  1711  he 
was  sent  to  Nova  Scotia  in  command  of  a  body 

recent  enactment  of  the  colonial  legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts, that  prohibited  all  commerce  between  that  colony  and 
Nova  Scotia.  This  enactment,  which  had  been  inspired  by 
the  sus))icion  that  the  French — then  at  war  with  England — 
obtained  supplies  at  Port  Royal,  bore  very  heavily  on  the 
Acadians,  who  depended  so  greatly  for  subsistence  upon 
their  dealings  with  New  England.  Bernon,  and  other 
French  refugees  in  Boston,  who  were  interested  in  the  trade 
with  Acadia,  especially  resented  it,  and  several  of  them  left 
Massachusetts  soon  after,  in  consequence,  it  would  appear, 
of  this  interference  with  that  trade.  "  You  can  well  see," 
wrote  young  Bernon  to  his  father,  then  in  England,  "  from 
the  manner  in  which  these  people  treat  us,  that  it  will  be 
impossible  for  us  to  live  any  longer  among  them,  without 
strong  recommendations  to  the  governor  who  is  expected 
soon.  They  commit  the  greatest  possible  injustice  toward 
the  inhabitants  of  Acadia  ;  for  whilst  they  assume  to  take 
them  under  their  protection,  they  pass  laws  that  condemn 
them  to  perish  with  cold  and  hunger ;  and  if  they  do  any 
thing  contrary  to  the  interests  of  the  English,  they  punish 
them  as  subjects  of  the  king  of  England." — (Bernon  Papers.) 
Charles  de  la  Tour  went  to  France,  and  died  before  the 
year  1732  ;  and  the  only  son  of  Jacques,  his  elder  brother, 
removed  also  from  Nova  Scotia.  The  descendants  of  two 
of  the  three  sisters,  Anne  and  Marguerite  de  la  Tour,  are 
numerous  in  that  province. — (Hannay,  History  of  Acadia  : 
pp.  206,  287,  324.  Mass.  Archives,  French  Collections,  vol. 
III.,  p.  331.) 


JOHN  PAUL  MASCARENE. 


141 


of  troops.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant-  Chap.  i. 
colonel,  and  became  a  member  of  the  provincial  1740- 
council ;  and  in  1740  he  was  appointed  lieuten-  1760. 
ant-governor  of  Nova  Scotia.  His  administra- 
tion of  affairs  in  the  province  was  eminently 
wise  and  able.  Succeeding  an  injudicious  and 
incompe'^ent  governor,  he  pursued  a  course  so 
conciliatory,  and  at  the  same  time  so  firm,  that 
he  won  the  entire  respect  and  confidence  of  both 
the  French  and  the  English.  When  a  strong 
French  force  besieged  Annapolis,  in  1744,  the 
Acadians  refused  to  take  part  with  the  besiegers 
against  the  British,  declaring  that  they  "  lived 
under  a  mild  and  tranquil  government,  and  had 
all  reason  to  be  faithful  to  it."'  Mascarene's 
moderation,  characteristic  of  his  Huguenot 
race,  was  sometimes  an  occasion  of  perplexity  to 
the  French  authorities  in  Quebec  and  in  Ver- 
sailles. The  Indians,  friendly  to  the  English, 
having  burned  down  the  church  at  Port  Royal 
or  Annapolis,  he  ordered  it  to  be  rebuilt.  He 
encouraged  the  Acadian  villagers  in  their  efforts 
to  obtain  missionaries,  and  protected  the  priests 
when  peaceable  and  loyal  to  the  English  govern- 
ment. The  governor  of  Canada  writes  home  October 
that  he  cannot  perceive  the  motives  for  this 
policy,  "  unless  Mr.  Mascarene  calculates  that 
mild  measures  will  be  more  effectual  than  any 
other  to  detach  the  affections  of  the  Acadians 
from  France."'     Unlike  the  career  of  the  adven- 

'  Hannay,  History  of  Acadia.     P.  336. 
'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York.     Vol.  X.,  p.  17. 


174fi. 


bi    ■;  vU 


l:'^  If 


i;  ( ■ 


{  ( 


i  '  1 


11 


Ill 


Ilii 


Chap.  I. 

1740- 
1760. 


!'* 


m 


i 


142 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :   ACADIA. 


turous  La  Tour  in  so  many  respects,  that  of 
John  Paul  Mascarene  resembled  it  in  two  par- 
ticulars. His  relations  with  New  England  were 
always  intimate.  Massachusetts  shared  his  af- 
fections with  Nova  Scotia,  and  he  had  fast 
friends  among  its  leading  citizens.  Like  La 
Tour  also,  he  spent  his  last  years  in  honorable 
retirement,  dying  in  Boston  on  the  fifteenth  day 
of  January,  1760,  at  the  age  of  seventy-five. 

But  we  must  go  back  to  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. For  a  number  of  years  preceding  a>nd 
following  the  period  of  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  Acadia  was  a  possession  of  the 
French  crown :  and  insecurely  as  he  held  it, 
Louis  XIV.  did  not  overlook  this  province,  in 
taking  measures  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy,  in 
the  colonies  of  France  as  well  as  at  home.  Oc- 
casionally, his  faithful  clergy  saw  fit  to  remind 
him  of  the  duty.  The  bishop  of  Quebec,  and 
his  grand  vicar,  always  keen  to  detect  heresy, 
represent  to  the  king  the  danger  of  its  spread  in 
this  remote  part  of  their  large  diocese,  and  urge 
upon  him  the  importance  of  crushing  it  at  once. 
They  learn  with  alarm  that  a  stationary  fishery 
is  about  to  be  established  in  Acadia,  by  a  num- 
ber of  Huguenots,  who  will  bring  over  a  minis- 
ter with  them.  The  king  is  reminded  that  these 
people  have  been  forbidden  to  settle  in  Canada, 
and  it  is  especially  important  that  they  be  not 
tolerated  in  Acadia.'     The  governor  of  Canada 

'  R^sum^  d'  une  lettre  de  M.  Douyt,  Grand  Vicaire  de 
I'Evesque  de  Quebec.  (1681).  A  appris  qu'on  se  prepare  a 
faire  un  etablissement  en  1'  Acadie  pour  une  pesche  seden- 


III 


'%  li 


lit 


HERESY  IN  ACADIA. 


143 


concurs  in  these  representations,  but  writes 
more  cautiously,  and  as  if  aware  of  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  situation.  It  would  be  unwise,  he 
thinks,  to  permit  French  Huguenots  to  come 
and  form  an  establishment  so  near  to  the  En- 
glish in  New  England,  who  are  likewise  of  the 
religion  called  Reformed,  and  in  a  country  to 
which  no  vessels  from  France  come  for  pur- 
poses of  commerce,  and  which  subsists  only 
through  intercourse  with  the  inhabitants  of  Bos- 
ton. It»  would  indeed  be  dangerous  to  set  up 
any  new  claims  there,  inasmuch  as  the  king  has 
neither  an  armed  force  nor  a  governor  of  his 
own  in  that  territory,  and  hence  there  would  be 
the  risk  of  losing  it  in  a  single  day.' 

The  enterprise  viewed  with  so  much  anxiety 
by  the  Canadian  authorities,  clerical  and  lay, 
was   conducted  by  one   Bergier,''  an  intelligent 

taire,  que  M.  le  Sr.  Berger  et  ceux  qui  passent  avec  hiy  sont 
tous  Huguenots,  et  menent  un  ministre. — Massachusetts 
Archives,  French  Collections,  III.,  23. 

M.  r  Evesque  de  Quebec,  19  Novembre,  1682.  II  est  im- 
portant de  ne  point  donner  d'  atteint  a  1'  Edit  qui  deffand 
aux  Huguenots  de  s'etablir  en  Canada,  et  surtout  de  ne  les 
point  souffrirdans  1'  Accadie. — Id.,  III.,  45. 

*  Rapport  de  M.  de  la  Barre  au  Ministre.  A  Quebec  le 
4  Novembre  1683.  *  *  *  H  est  important,  Monseigneur, 
de  ne  pas  permettre  que  des  Huguenots  Francois  viennent 
former  un  etablissement  si  proche  des  Angloisde  la  Nouvelle 
Angleterre,  qui  sont  aussi  de  la  religion  qu'on  appelle  Re- 
form^e  et  en  un  pays  ou  il  ne  vient  point  de  navires  de  France 
pour  y  faire  le  commerce,  et  qui  ne  subsiste  que  par  celuy 
qu'il  fait  avec  les  Bostonnais.  II  est  mesme  dangereux  d'  y 
establir  aucuns  droits  nouveaux,  parceque  le  Roy  n'  ayant 
ny  force  ny  Gouverneur  en  son  nom  au  dt  pays,  1'  on 
courreroit  risque  de  le  perdre  en  un  jour.     Id.,  III.,  93. 

'  The  family  of  Bergier  was  prominently  represented  in 


Chap.  I. 
i68"3- 


u:! 


i! 


I 


144 


UNDER  THE  EDICT  :  ACADIA. 


1684. 


Bergier 

of  La 

Koohelle. 


I 


Chap.  I.  and  energetic  merchant  of  La  Rochelle,  and  "  a 
1682-  most  obstinate  Huguenot,"  who  had  associated 
with  himself  three  Protestant  citizens  of  Paris, 
the  Sieurs  Gautier,  Boucher,  and  De  Mantes,  for 
the  purpose  of  engaging  in  the  shore  fishery  in 
Acadia.  This  important  business  had  been, 
of  late,  greatly  interfered  with  by  the  fishermen 
of  New  England,  who  were  permitted  by  the 
acting  commandant  of  Acadia,  De  la  Valli^re,  to 
follow  their  craft  freely  in  the  waters  of  the 
province,  upon  payment  of  a  certain  toll. 
Bergier,  who  had  visited  Acadia,  succeeded  in 
obtaining  from  the  government  of  Louis  XIV. 
the  i.ight  to  establish  a  stationary  or  coast  fish- 
ery, and  to  build  a  fort  for  its  protection.  The 
great  Colbert  was  still  in  power,  though  that 
power  was  waning  : '  and  it  was  doubtless  due 
to  his  urgency  that  Bergier  and  his  associates 
were  permitted  to  carry  out  their  plans,  in  spite 
of  the  remonstrances  from  Quebec'  In  1684, 
the  king  appointed  Bergier  his  lieutenant  for  the 


the  municipality  of  La  Rochelle  during  the  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  centuries.  The  Acadian  trader  may  have  been 
one  of  the  numerous  sons  of  Isaac  Bergier,  who  was  "  capi- 
taine  de  la  ville,"  in  1651. — La  France  Protestante,  deuxi^me 
edition,  s.  v. 

'  He  died  September  6,  1683. 

'  Memoire  sur  I'Acadie,  Mass.  Archives,  French  Collec- 
tions, III.,  49.  It  appears  that  Bergier  went  by  Colbert's 
orders  in  1682  to  Acadia  to  effect  the  establishment,  and 
came  back  in  December  in  the  same  year  to  make  his  report 
to  the  minister.  A  second  visit  was  made  in  the  spring  of 
1683  by  command  of  Colbert,  who  died  before  Bergier's 
return. 


i 


HUGUENOTS  IN  NEWFOUNDLAND.       145 

coast  and  country  of  Acadia,  for  the  following    Chap.  i. 
three  years/  1686. 

East  of  Nova  Scotia  and  the  adjoining  island 
of  Cape  Breton,  the  French  had  planted  a 
colony,  some  years  before.  In  the  bay  of  Placentia, 
on  the  southern  coast  of  Newfoundland.  The 
Sleur  Parat,  governor  of  Placentia,  reports  to 
Louis  XIV.,  in  1686,  that  in  consequence  of  the 
measures  he  has  taken,  there  remains  but  a  soli- 
rary  Huguenot  family  in  the  place.  Several 
have  renounced  heresy,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
inclosed  certificates  of  abjuration.  The  surgeon 
of  the  port  being  a  Huguenot,  he  has  sent  him 
home  upon  a  ship  sailing  for  Marseilles.'  One 
is  tempted  to  suspect  that  a  vein  of  Irony  can  be 
discovered  in  the  governor's  communication,  as 


1..J 


'  Provision  de  Lieutenant  de  Roy  pour  le  Sr.  Bergier. 
Mass.  Archives,  French  Collections,  IIL,  113. 

'  Memoire  du  Sieur  Parat:  Plaisance,  1686.  Mass. 
Archives,  French  Collections,  IIL,  321. 

In  another  case  of  expulsion,  Avhich  occurred  the  follow- 
ing year,  M.  Parat  failed  to  gain  the  approval  of  his  supe- 
riors. From  the  minister's  letter  to  him,  November  9,  1687, 
it  appears  that  the  person  expelled  was  named  Basset,  that 
he  had  lived  in  Boston  for  fourteen  years,  and  that  Parat 
was  indebted  to  him  for  a  considerable  sum  of  money. 
Investigation  showed  that  very  probably  the  governor  had 
been  prompted  by  a  desire  to  avoid  payment,  and  to  take 
possession  of  his  creditor's  goods.  He  is  roundly  berated 
by  the  minister,  and  ordered  to  make  instant  restitution. — 
Mass.  Archives,  French  Collections,  III.,  279.  The  subject 
of  this  treatment  was  undoubtedly  David  Basset,  mariner, 
whose  petition  for  denization  had  been  granted  by  Governor 
Andros  the  year  befoie.  The  letter  of  denization  states  that 
he  "  hath  been  a  Resident  and  Inhabitant  with  his  famyley 
in  ye  Towne  of  Boston  for  the  space  of  fourteene  Yeares 
Last  past." — Mass.  Archives,  CXXVL,  373. 


146 


NEWFOUNDLAND. 


i'i  t 


Chap.  I.  He  proceeds  to  ask  whether  he  ought  to  arrest 
1686.  the  French  of  the  Pretended  Reformed  Rehgion 
who  are  on  board  English  vessels,  and  if  so, 
whether  the  requirement  extends  to  the  case  of 
those  who  have  been  naturalized  as  Enfrlishmen. 
If  such  be  his  Majesty's  intention,  he  adds  de- 
murely, a  force  will  be  needed  to  enable  him 
to  execute  it.  The  king's  reply  is  equally 
demure.  The  governor  may  very  properly 
cause  such  seamen  to  be  arrested  and  sent  to 
France,  but  let  him  be  careful  not  to  undertake 
anything  in  this  regard  without  being  sure  of 
success.' 

Both  the  kinof  and  his  servant  knew  that 
France  held  the  little  settlement  of  Placentia  by 
a  very  feeble  tenure.  Six  years  later,  the  place 
was  destroyed  by  the  English.  Meanwhile  the 
governor  could  enforce  upon  the  few  defenseless 
Huguenots  of  his  colony  the  penalties  of  the 
Edict  of  Revocation,  without  fear  of  rebuke 
from  his  royal  master.  How  faithfully  he  did  so 
we  learn  by  a  letter  of  the  minister  Louvois  to 
the  Sieur  Parat  in  1689.  "The  king  has  ap- 
proved of  the  course  you  have  taken  in  the  case 
of  the  daughter  of  the  Sieur  Pasteur,^  in  sending 
her  to  the  nuns  of  Quebec,  and  his  Majesty  gives 
you  liberty  to  compel  the  new  converts  whose 
conduct  is  not  sufficiently  exact,  to  send  their 

'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  Vol.  IX.,  318. 

'  "  M.  Pastour"  writes  from  Placentia,  January  i,  1691,  to 
the  French  minister  of  marine,  informing  him  that  the  island 
of  St.  Peter,  in  Acadia,  has  been  pillaged  by  a  party  of 
Englishmen. — Documents,  etc.,  IX.,  022. 


THE  SIEUR  PASTEUR'S  DAUGHTER.      147 

daughters  thither,  in  order  that  they  may  be  Chap.  i. 
taught  the  duties  of  religion,  and  may  be  kept  ,689. 
there  until  an  opportunity  maybe  found  to  marry 
them  to  good  Catholics.  You  will,  however,  be 
careful  to  proceed  cautiously  in  this  matter,  lest 
these  efforts  should  alarm  the  new  converts,  and 
drive  them  to  the  resort  of  escaping  to  the 
Enfrlish,"  ' 

'  Lettro  du  Ministre  an  Sieur  Parat.  A  Versailles,  le  7 
Juin,  1689.  Le  Roy  a  approuve  la  conduite  que  voiis  avez 
tenii  pour  la  fille  du  Sieur  Pasteur,  en  renvoyant  aux  Reli- 
gieuses  de  Quebec,  et  Sa  Majesty  vous  laisse  la  liberty 
d'obliger  les  nouveaux  convertis  dent  la  conduitte  n'est  pas 
assez  exacte,  a  y  envoyer  leurs  filles,  pour  leur  apprendre  les 
devoirs  de  la  religion  et  y  etre  gardees  jusqu'  a  ce  qu'  on 
trouve  a  les  marier  a  des  bons  catholiques.  Vous  observerez 
ccpendant  d'  y  aporter  quelque  menagement,  en  sortequi  ce 
soin  n'effarouche  point  les  nouveaux  convertis,  et  ne  les 
oblige  point  a  prendre  le  party  de  passer  aux  Anglois. — 
Mass.  Archives,  French  Collections,  HI.,  357. 


m^m 


i'M 


v.  t 


CHAPTER   II. 


NEW     NETHERLAND. 


1623 1664. 


Chap.  n. 

March  1, 
1662. 

Augnst  8, 
1670. 


Aagnst 

24, 
1572. 


Eight  years  of  strife  and  bloodshed  in 
France,  beginning  with  the  massacre  of  Vassy, 
were  terminated  by  the  peace  of  Saint  Germain, 
at  the  close  of  the  third  civil  war.  The  treaty 
that  announced  to  the  distracted  country  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  between  Protestant  and 
Romanist,  secured  to  the  former  a  certain 
measure  of  religious  liberty.  "  For  the  first 
time  in  their  history,  the  relations  of  the  Hu- 
guenots of  France  to  the  state  were  settled  by 
an  edict  which  was  expressly  stated  to  be  per- 
petual and  irrevocable."'  Not  many  months 
elapsed,  however,  before  the  insincerity  and  the 
ineffectiveness  of  the  Edict  of  Pacification  be- 
came apparent ;  and  scarcely  two  years  had 
passed  when  the  massacre  of  Saint  Bartholo- 
mew's day  realized  the  worst  fears  of  the 
Protestant  party.  The  satanic  scheme  that 
aimed  at  the  extermination  of  the  hated  sect, 
failed  of  accomplishing  its  end ;  but  France 
was  deluged  in  blood  ;  and  among  the  thousands 
who  were  butchered    in    cold  blood,  or  in   the 

'  History  of  the  Rise  of  the  Huguenots  of  France,  by 
Henry  M.  Baird.    Vol.  II.,  p.  366. 


1  ■;' 


THE  WALLOONS. 


149 


1572- 


frenzy  of  lanatical    zeal,  many  of   the    noblest  Chap.  11. 
and  purest  of  her  sons  perished. 

Immediately  after  the  massacre  of  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's day,  large  numbers  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Bretagne,  Normandy,  and  Picardy  fled  to  the 
English  islands  of  Jersey  and  Guernsey,  as  well 
as  to  Great  Britain  itself ;  and  larger  numbers 
emigrated,  both  to  England  and  to  Holland,  from 
the  Walloon  country,  on  the  north-eastern  bor- 
der of  Erance.  The  Walloons  were  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  region  now  comprised  by  the 
Erench  department  du  Nord,  and  the  south- 
western provinces  of  Belgium.  They  were  a 
people  of  Erench  extraction,  and  spoke  the 
Erench  lanofuaofe.  Zealous  missionaries  had 
preached  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation 
among  the  Walloons,  about  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century ;  and  although  the  mass  of 
the  people  remained  attached  to  the  Roman 
religion,  multitudes  embraced  the  new  faith.  In 
spite  of  the  measures  employed  by  the  Spanish 
government  for  the  repression  of  the  move- 
ment, secret  assemblies  of  Protestant  worship- 
ers were  held.  In  all  the  principal  towns  of 
the  region — at  Lisle,  at  Arras,  at  Douay,  Valen- 
ciennes, Tournay,  Mons,  Oudenarde,  Ghent, 
Antwerp  and  Mechlin — congregations  were 
organized;  and  in  1563  the  Synod  of  the  Wal- 
loon Churches  in  the  provinces  of  Artois,  Eland- 
ers,  Brabant,  and  Hainault  was  formed. 

The   introduction   of  the  Spanish  Inquisition      isei. 
into  the   Netherlands  had  already  driven  thou- 
sands of  Walloon  families  into  exile.     Of  these, 


1644. 


II 


I50 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.  many  established  themselves  in  England,  taking 
1561.  with  them  the  industries  and  the  commercial 
enterprise  that  brought  new  prosperity  to  that 
country.  The  manufacture  of  woolen,  linen  and 
silk  fabrics,  introduced  by  Protestant  workmen 
from  the  Belgian  and  Flemish  provinces,  spread 
from  London  and  Sandwich,  where  the  refugees 
first  settled,  to  many  other  places,  and  was  car- 
ried on  with  singular  success.  Exposed  some- 
times to  annoyance  and  injury,  as  their  skill  and 
thrift  excited  the  jealousy  of  native  artisans,  the 
strangers  enjoyed  for  the  most  part  the  favor  of 
the  people  among  whom  they  had  come  to 
dwell,  and  found  England  a  sanctuary  both  for 
their  temporal  interests  and  for  their  religion. 
Walloon  churches  were  founded  more  than  a 
century  before  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  in  London,  Canterbury,  Norwich,  South- 
ampton and  other  principal  towns  of  the  king- 
dom. The  Walloons  in  Canterbury,  as  early  as 
the  year  1561,  were  granted  the  use  of  the 
imder-croft  or  crypt  of  the  cathedral,  as  a  place 
of  worship. 

Another  and  a  larger  emigration  took  place 
a  few  years  later,  setting  toward  the  Protestant 
state  of  Holland.  The  Walloon  provinces  of  Ar- 
tois,  and  Hainault,  with  apart  of  French  Fland- 
ers refused  to  join  Holland  and  Zealand  in  form- 
ing the  commonwealth  of  the  United  Nether- 
lands, preferring  a  reconciliation  with  Spain. 
The  Protestants  who  still  remained  in  these 
provinces,  now  removed  by  thousands  into  Hol- 
land.     Here  they  were  welcomed,  as  well  by  the 


1579. 


)f:  I 


THE  REFUGE  IN  HOLLAND. 


151 


'  i 


government  as  by  their  co-religionists,  and  were  Chap.  11. 
admitted  with  characteristic  hberaUty  to  the  en-  i^^r,. 
joyment  of  equal  rights,  social,  political  and 
religious.  Walloon  colonies  were  formed,  and 
Walloon  churches  were  organized,  in  all  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Dutch  republic.  These 
communities,  while  they  acquired  the  language 
of  their  adopted  country,  retained  their  own  ; 
and  the  Walloon  families,  though  notunfrequent- 
ly  allied  by  intermarriage  with  those  of  their 
hosts,  preserved  for  several  generations  a  char- 
acter distinctly  French.  From  time  to  time  they 
were  recruited  by  accessions  from  the  perse- 
cuted Huguenots  of  France.  Eminent  French- 
men came  to  occupy  the  pulpits  and  to  fill 
the  chairs  to  which  they  were  welcomed  in 
the  universities  of  the  land.  The  Walloon 
churches,  while  retaining  their  own  ritual  and 
mode  of  government,  became  incorporated 
with  the  ecclesiastical  establishment  of  the 
nation.  The  contribution  thus  made  to  the  in- 
dustrial, the  intellectual,  and  the  religious 
strength  of  the  people  was  of  incalculable  worth. 
Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  not  a  few 
families,  French  and  Walloon,  that  afterwards 
took  root  in  America,  were  living  in  these  hos- 
pitable towns  of  Holland.  Among  the  leading 
names  that  may  be  mentioned,  were  those  of 
Bayard,  De  Forest,  De  la  Montagne.  Nicolas  ^he 
Bayard,  a  French  Protestant  clergyman,  had  Bayards, 
taken  refuo^e  in  the  Netherlands  after  the  mas- 
sacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day.  His  name 
appears  among  the  earliest  signatures  attached 


I 


I 


; 


, 


f 


152 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.   to  the  articles  of  the  Walloon  Synod.     Tradition 

1580.  reports  that  he  had  been  a  professor  of  theology 
in  Paris,  and  connects  him  with  the  family  rep- 
resented by  the  famous  knight  "  sans  peur  et 
sans  reproche."     In  the  next  generation,  Lazare  ' 

1608.  Bayard,  perhaps  a  son  of  Nicolas,  was  enrolled 
among  the  Walloon  clergy  in  Holland.  It  was 
this  Huguenot  pastor,  we  are  led  to  believe, 
whose  daughter  Judith  married  Peter  Stuyvesant, 
the  last  of  the  Dutch  governors  of  New  Neth- 
erland  ;  and  whose  son,  Samuel,  was  the  father 
of  Nicolas,  Balthazar,  and  Peter  Bayard,  from 
whom  the  American  branches  of  this  family 
descend.  Amsterdam  was  the  adopted  home  of 
the  Bayards,  and  of  several  other  families  that 
eventually  lemoved  to  New  Netherland. 

1684.  No  city  of  Holland  drew  to  itself  greater 
numbers  of  the  Walloons  and  French,  than 
Leyden  ;  and  no  other  is  invested  with  so  much 
interest  for  the  student  of  American  history. 
For  it  was  here  that  the  Puritan  founders  of 
Plymouth  colony  sojourned  during  almost  the 

Leyden.  whole  period  of  their  stay  in  the  Netherlands. 
Here  they  conceived  and  matured  the  plan  of 
removing  to  the  New  World,  and  of  laying  the 
foundations  of  a  state,  in  which,  while  (rv^  to 
worship  God  according  to  their  own  ron, ciences, 
they  might  live  under  the  protec*^'       of  Englai  d. 


'  The  traditional  name  is       It  it  is  prob- 

able that  he  bore  both  n  lui  *-     cer  Judith, 

who  married  Governor  P  ^ant,  na  .icd  her  eldest  son 

(baptized  in  the  Dutch  Chui    1,  New  Amsterdam,  October 
13,  1647,)  "  Balthazar  Lazarus." 


WALLOONS  AND  FRENCH  IN  LEYDEN.  153 

and   enlarge  her  dominions.     And  it  was  here  chap.  11. 
that  a  body  of  Protestant  Walloons  and  French-     1609. 
men,   influenced   no  doubt  by   the   example  of 
their   Puritan   neighbors,  entertained   a  similar 
project,  and  engaged  in  an  enterprise  that  led 
to  the  colonization  of  New  York. 

"  P'air  and  beautiful  "'  Leyden  had  regained 
its  eminence  among  the  flourishing  cities  of 
Holland,  since  the  memorable  siege  of  1574.  It 
was  now  the  principal  manufacturing  town  in  the 
Netherlands ;  and  its  great  university,  founded 
as  a  memorial  of  the  heroism  of  its  inhabitants 
during  that  siege,  held  the  foremost  place 
among  the  universities  of  Europe.  Attracted 
doubtless  both  by  the  educational  and  by  the 
industrial  advantages  of  the  place,  many  of 
the  French  Protestants  had  chosen  this  town 
as  their  home.  A  Walloon  church  was  founded 
in  Leyden  as  early  as  the  year  1584.  Some  of 
its  members  were  of  noble  rank  ;  a  few  were 
scholars ;  but  most  of  them  were  artisans,  who 
met  with  encouragement  in  this  busy  and  popu- 
lous city  to  ply  their  several  crafts.  Almost 
every  branch  of  industry  was  represented  among 
them  ;  but  the  principal  employments  were  those 
of  the  wool-carder,'  the  weaver,  the  clothier, 
and  the  dyer. 

The  Walloons  and  French  in  Leyden  com- 
posed a  considerable  colony,  when  in  1609  they 

•  Bradford. 

*  It  was  among  the  humble  workmen  who  pursued  these 
crafts  that  the  Reformation  in  France  won  some  of  its  earliest 
adherents  :  as  Jean  Leclerc,  "  the  wool-carder  of  Meaux." 


h  I 


1! 


154 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


1 6  JO. 


Au-ju3t 

ieo3, 

to 
1G33. 


Tlie 
Erowuists. 


Chap. II.  saw  a  company  of  English  refugees  arrive  in 
1609-  that  city.  The  strangers  were  simple  farmers 
from  Nottinohamshire,  who,  learnintj  that  re- 
ligious  freedom  could  be  enjoyed  in  the  Low 
Countries,  had  come  with  John  Robinson  their 
teacher  to  seek  an  asylum  there.  The  Brownists, 
as  they  were  opprobriously  called,  had  first  de- 
signed to  make  Amsterdam  their  home ;  but 
after  a  few  months'  stay,  they  determined  to 
remove  to  Leyden,  a  place  recommended  to 
them  by  its  "  sweet  situation."  They  soon 
"fell  to  such  trades  c'nd  employments  as 
they  best  could,  and  at  length  came  to  raise  a 
competent  and  comfortable  living,  but  with  hard 
and  continual  labor."'  T.ieir  relations  with 
the  D'.'t^ch,  and  with  their  French  and  Walloon 
neighbors,  are  known  tc  have  been  most  friendly. 
Some  of  the  English  becanie  weavers  ;  Bradford, 
one  of  their  number,  "served  a  Frenchman 
at  the  workii.g  of  silks."''  It  is  not  unlikely 
that  others  were  similarly  associated.  Reli- 
oious  interests  drew  them  still  more  closelv 
together.  The  magistrates  of  Leyden  had 
irranted  the  use  of  the  same  church  to  the 
French  and  the  Enelish  stranircrs.  St.  Catha- 
rine  Gasthuis  was  the  building  thus  occupied 
from    1609^  till    1622.      In    the  course  of   time, 

'  Bradford,  History  of  Plymouth  Plantation,  17. 

'■"Mather,  Magnalia,  II.,  chap.  I.,  §4. 

"  History  of  the  Scottish  Church,  Rotterdam.  Notices  of 
the  British  Churches  in  the  Netherlands.  By  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Steven.  Edinburgh,  1832,  p.  314.  Mr.  George  Sum- 
ner has  questioned  the  statement,  so  far  as  it  concerns  the 
Brownists. — (Contributions  to  the  History  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers.) 


PROJECTS  OF  EMIGRATION. 


155 


i6jo. 


some  of  the  French  in  Leyden,  as  well  as  several  chap.  11. 
members  of  the  Dutch  churches,'  embraced  the  1609- 
distinctive  religious  views  of  the  English  Sep- 
aratists, and  were  admitted  into  their  commu- 
nion. 

But  the  Puritans  were  not  long  content  to  re- 
main in  Holland.  Their  children  were  exposed 
to  many  temptations  in  a  large  city  ;  the  laxity 
with  which  the  Sabbath  was  observed  by  the 
Dutch  distressed  them  sorely  ;  they  could  not 
bear  the  thouirht  of  losinijf  "their  language  and 
their  name  of  En<rlish  ;"  and  besides,  thev  lontred 
that  God  might  be  pleased  "  to  discover  some 
place  unto  them,  though  in  America,  where  they 
might  live  and  comfortably  subsist,"  and  at  the 
same  time  "keep  their  name  and  nation."^ 

Projects  of  American  colonization  had  long 
been  entertained  in  England.  From  time  to 
time,  British  merchants  and  adventurers  had 
embarked  in  the  enterprise,  and  the  government 
had  encouraged  it  by  ample  charters.  But  the 
attempts  of  the  Virginia  Company  to  plant  set- 
tlements at  various  points  along  the  coast,  from 
Cape  P^ear  to  Nova  Scotia,  had   failed,  with  a 


'"Divers  of  their  members  [members  of  tlie  Dutch 
chiirchesl  .  .  .  betook  tliemselves  to  the  communion  of 
our  church,  weiit  with  us  to  New  England.  .  .  .  One 
Samuel  Terry  was  received  from  the  French  church  there 
into  communion  with  us.  .  .  .  There  is  also  one  Philip  De- 
lanoy,  born  of  French  parents,  came  to  us  from  Leyden." — 
Winslow,  Hrief  Narration,  95,  96 ;  Palfrey,  History  of  New 
England,  I.,  161. 

"  Winslow,  Brief  Narration,  81  ;  Palfrey,  History  of  New 
England,  I.,  147. 


.7 


llii 


TT 


i 


156 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


tions. 


1617. 


lit 


Chap.  II.  single  exception.  The  colony  founded  at  James- 
1609-  town  in  1607,  after  years  of  struggle  and  weak- 
1620.  ness,  was  now  well  established  :  and  the  eyes  of 
England  were  directed  with  hope  and  sati"- '"ac- 
tion to  this  rising  state,  which  was  ultimately  to 
enjoy  the  name  heretofore  applied  indefinitely 
to  the  whole  seaboard  south  of  Acadia — the 
name  of  Virginia. 

The  Leyden  Puritans  at  length  determined  to 
remove,  under  the  favor  of  the  Virginia  Com- 
pany, to  America.     Their  design  was  to  plant  a 

Negotia-  colony  "in  the  northern  parts  of  Virginia": — 
houth  of  the  territory  then  claimed  by  the  Dutch, 
but  north  of  Virginia  proper.  Negotiations 
were  opened  with  the  Company,  and  with 
merchants  in  London  friendly  to  the  under- 
taking, for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  patent, 
and  of  obtaining  the  money  needed  for  the 
expenses  of  the  voyage  and  the  settlement. 
These  negotiations  lasted  through  two  or  three 
years.  Various  difficulties  were  raised  in  the  way 
of  the  expedition.  The  king  was  reluctant  to 
encourage  a  colony  of  Separatists.  Severe 
terms  were  proposed  by  the  London  merchants, 
to  whom  the  Puritans  looked  for  pecuniary  aid. 
The  Virginia  Company  delayed  to  grant  a 
patent. 

February,  Meantime  the  plans  of  their  English  guests 
1620.  j^^j-|  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Dutch.  Rob- 
inson himself,  discouraged  by  the  ill-success  of 
the  efforts  made  in  England,  was  inclined  to 
.seek  aid  from  capitalists  in  Amsterdam,  and  to 
jj.cxnt  a  colony  near  the  Hudson  river,  under  the 


THE  PURITANS  LEAVE  LEYDEN. 


157 


protection  of  the  States-General  of  Holland,  chap.ii. 
The  Dutch  merchants  entered  heartily  into  the  j^^ 
project.  They  made  "large  offers"  of  assist- 
ance, engaging  to  transport  the  English  families 
to  America,  free  of  expense,  and  to  furnish  them 
abundantly  with  cattle.  It  was  for  the  govern- 
ment, however,  to  sanction  the  expedition,  to 
give  the  lands,  and  to  pledge  its  protection. 
The  States-General  of  Holland  were  not  pre- 
pared to  do  this.  At  the  very  moment  when 
the  application  of  the  Puritans  was  made,  the 
scheme  of  a  Dutch  West  India  Company  was 
engaging  the  attention  of  that  body  But  the 
plan  was  not  yet  mature  :  and  when  a  memorial 
was  addressed  to  the  Prince  of  Orange,  asking 
that  the  English  families  might  be  sent  to  New 
Netherland  as  colonists,  it  was,  after  much  con- 
sideration, refused.' 

At  length,  however,  the  original  application  of 
the  Puritans  to  England  proved  successful :  a 
patent  came  from  the  Virginia  Company  ;  the 
Brownists, — those  at  least  of  the  number  who 
were  to  go  as  pioneers  for  the  rest, — sold 
their  little  property ;  and  leaving  "  that  good 
and  pleasant  city "  of  Leyden,  "  which  had 
been  their  resting  place  near  twelve  years," 
the  Pilgrim  Fathers  of  New  England  sailed 
from  Delft-Haven,  fourteen  miles  from  that  August 
city.  Among  the  passengers  on  the  Speed-  ^' 
well    were    several    of    the    French,    who    had 


'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York.    Vol.1.    Holland  Documents.    Pp.  22-24. 


April 
11. 


i:       ' 

I 

^^'1 

^Hi'  h 

^H'  i 

P^^ 

r  ::". : 

1  ■      ■'     : 

1  ■■       > 

'1          ■     \ 

; 

t                    X 

July 
21. 


i 

■ 

1  .  ul 

i^»l  i  tl 

fi 


11 


158 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.  decided  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  these 
1620.  Eni^hsh  brethren.  WiHiam  Molines  and  his 
daughter  Priscilla,  afterwards  the  wife  of  John 
Alden  ;  and  Phihp  Delanoy/  born  in  Leyden  of 
French  parents,  were  of  the  number.  Others 
followed,  the  next  year,  in  the  Fortune. 

Meanwhile,  the  Walloons  of  Leyden  had 
planned  to  follow  the  example  of  their  Puritan 
neio^hbors, — with  whom  they  had  doubtless  con- 
sulted freely  on  the  subject, — and  were  prepared 
to  remove,  in  a  considerable  body,  to  America. 
Less  than  a  year""  after  the  sailing  of  the  Speed- 
well, the  British  ambassador  at  the  Hague,  Sir 
Dudley  Carleton,  was  approached  by  a  delegate 
from  this  band.  "  Here  hath  been  with  me  of 
late,"  wrote  the  minister,  "a  certaine  Walon,  an 
inhabitant  of  Leyden,  in  the  name  of  divers 
families,  men  of  all  trades  and  occupations,  who 
desire  to  goe  into  Virginia,  and  there  to  live  in 
the  same  condition  as  others  of  his  Ma''"  sub- 
jects." The  messenger  brought  a  petition,  signed 
by  fifty-six  heads  of  families,  Walloon  and 
French,  all  of  the  Reformed  Religion.      He  in- 

'  Others  of  this  name  remained  in  Leyden.  Jaques  de  la 
Noy,  perhaps  a  brother  of  the  emigrant  to  New  l-'ngland, 
presented  his  son  Philippe  for  baptism  in  Leydeii,  June  i, 
1625.  Guillnume  de  Lannoy  and  Geertjc  Barthelemi  were 
married  September  19,  1633.  A  daughter  was  baptized 
July  23,  1634  :  Marie  de  Lannoy  and  Jeanne  de  Lannoy, 
witnesses. 

"  Mr.  Brodhead,  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  vol. 
L,  1",.  146,  has  by  mistake  placed  this  interview  a  year  later — 
in  iL,  2.  The  letter  of  S'r  Dudley  Carleton  to  Secretary 
Sir  George  Calvert,  which  fixes  the  time,  is  dated  July  ig, 
1621. — (State  Papers,  Holland,  Bundle  141  (folio  308),  in 
Public  Record  Office,  London.) 


July 

19, 

1621. 


JESSE  DE  FOREST.  159 

formed  the  ambassador  further  that  if  the 
proposition  should  find  favor  with  his  Majesty, 
the  petitioners  would  send  over  one  of  their 
number  to  England,  to  treat  with  the  Virginia 
Company.  Carleton  himself  strongly  seconded 
iheir  request,  judging  that  the  colonists  "may 
surely  be  of  singular  use  to  our  Company,"  if 
some  equitable  terms  might  be  agreed  upon  for 
iheir  transportation  to  America. 

The  spokesman,  and  undoubtedly  the  leader 
of  the  Leyden  band  of  Walloons,  was  Jesse  de 
[''orest.  The  petition  which  he  presented  to  the 
ambassador  was  signed  by  him,  in  the  name  of 
the  rest.     It  read  thus  : 

"  His  lordship  the  ambassador  of  the  most 
serene  king  of  Great  Britain  is  very  humbly 
entreated  to  advise  and  answer  us  in  regfard  to 
the  articles  which  follow. 

"  I.  Whether  it  would  please  his  Majesty  to 
permit  fifty  to  sixty  families,  as  well  Walloons 
as  French,  all  of  the  Reformed  relicrion,  to  ijo 
and  settle  in  Virginia,  a  country  under  his 
obedience,  and  whether  it  would  please  him 
to  undertake  their  protection  and  defense  from 
and  acfainst  all,  and  to  maintain  them  in  their 
rehVion. 

"II.  And  whereas,  in  the  said  families  there 
might  be  found  nearly  three  hundred  persons  ; 
and  inasmuch  as  they  would  wish  to  carry  with 
them  a  quantity  of  cattle,  as  well  for  purposes 
of  husbandry  as  for  their  support,  and  for  these 
reasons  they  would  require  that  they  should 
have  more  than  one  ship ;  whether  his  Majesty 


Chap.  II. 
I62I. 


Petition 

of  the 

Walloons 

and 
French. 


m 

1 

illi 

1 

1 

■ 

1 

Itt 

■ 

11 

1 

if 

i6o 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.  would  not  accommodate  them  .with  one,  equipped 
1621.  and  furnished  with  cannon  and  other  arms,  on 
board  of  which — together  with  the  ship  which 
they  may  be  able  to  provide  for  themselves — 
they  could  accomplish  their  voyage,  and  which 
might  return  and  obtain  commodities  to  be  con- 
veyed to  the  places  that  may  be  granted  by  his 
Majesty,  as  well  as  carry  back  the  products  of 
that  country. 

"III.  Whether  he  would  pe^'mit  them,  upon 
their  arrival  in  the  said  country,  to  choose  a  spot 
convenient  for  their  abode,  among  the  places 
not  yet  cultivated  by  those  whom  it  has  pleased 
his  Majesty  to  send  thither  already. 

"  IV.  Whether,  having  reached  the  said  spot, 
they  might  be  allowed  to  build  a  town  for  their 
security,  and  furnish  it  with  the  requisite  fortifi- 
cations ;  where  they  might  elect  a  governor 
and  magistrates,  for  the  administration  of  police 
as  well  as  of  justice,  under  those  fundamental 
laws  which  it  has  pleased  his  said  Majesty  to 
establish  in  the  said  territories. 

"V.  Whether  his  said  Majesty  would  give  them 
cannon  and  munitions  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  said  place,  and  would  grant  them,  in  case  of 
necessity,  the  privilege  of  manufacturing  pow- 
der, making  bullets  and  casting  cannon,  under 
the  arms  and  escutcheon  of  his  said  Majesty. 

"VI.  Whether  he  would  grant  them  a  township 
or  territory,  in  a  radius  of  eight  English  miles  or 
say,  sixteen  miles  in  diameter,  which  they  might 
improve  as  fields,  meadows,  vineyards,  and  for 
o.  ler  uses ;  which  territory,  whether  conjointly 


PRIVILEGES  DESIRED. 


l6l 


or  severally,  they  would  hold  from  his  Majesty  Chap.  ii. 
upon  fealty  and  homage  ;  no  others  being  allowed     162 1. 
to  dwell  within  the  bounds  of  the  said  lands,  un- 
less they  shall  have  taken  letters  of  citizenship  ;  in 
which  territory  they  would  reserve  to  themselves 
inferior  manonal  rights  ;  and  whether  it  might 
be  permitted  to  those  of  their  number  who  are  Manorial 
entitled  to  maintain   the  rank  of  noblemen,  to    ^^«^^' 
declare  themselves  such. 

"VII.  Whether  they  would  be  permitted  in  the 
said  lands  to  hunt  all  game,  whether  furred  or 
feathered,  to  fish  in  the  sea  and  the  rivers,  to 
cut  heavy  timber,  as  well  for  shipbuilding 
as  for  commerce,  at  their  own  will ;  in  a 
word,  whether  they  could  make  use  of  all  things, 
either  above  or  beneath  the  ground,  at  their 
pleasure  and  will,  the  royal  rights  reserved  ;  and 
whether  they  could  dispose  of  all  things  in 
trade  with  such  persons  as  may  be  permitted 
them. 

"  Which  provisions  would  extend  only  to  the 
said  families  and  those  belonging  to  them,  without 
admitting  those  who  might  come  afterwards  to 
the  said  territory  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
same,  except  so  far  as  they  might  of  their  own 
power  grant  this  to  them,  and  not  beyond,  unless 
his  said  Majesty  should  make  a  new  grant  to 
them. 

"And  whereas,  they  have  learned  that  his 
said  Majesty  has  established  in  London  a  public 
warehouse  at  which  all  merchandises  from  those 
countries  must  be  unloaded,  and  not  elsewhere  ; 
and  considering  that  it  is  more  than  reasonable 


t  ( 


l'> 


ill  I 


:.  ;:il 


I*  1. 


I^MTl 


...  ^i%- 


ii 


162 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.  that  those  who  by  their  toil  and  industry  have 
162 1,  procured  to  the  public  the  enjoyment  of  that 
country,  should  be  the  first  to  enjoy  the  fruits 
thereof :  They  will  submit  to  the  ordinances 
which  have  been  established  there  to  this  effect, 
which  will  for  their  better  observance  be  com- 
municated to  them. 

"  Under  which  conditions  and  privileges,  they 

would   promise   fealty  and   obedience  as  would 

Promises  become  faithful  and   obedient  subjects  to  their 

of  fealty.  kJng  and  sovereign  lord,  submitting  themselves 

to   the    laws   generally    established  in  the   said 

countries,  to  the  utmost  of  their  ability. 

"  Upon  that  which  precedes,  his  lordship  the 
ambassador,  will,  if  he  please,  give  his  advice  ; 
as  also,  if  such  be  his  pleasure,  to  have  the  said 
privilege  forwarded  in  due  form  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, in  view  of  the  shortness  of  the  time  that 
remains  from  this  to  the  month  of  March  (the 
season  favorable  for  the  embarkation),  in  order 
to  give  due  attention  to  all  that  maybe  required. 
So  doing  he  will  lay  his  servants  under  obliga- 
tion to  pray  God  for  the  accomplishment  of  His 
holy  purposes,  and  for  his  health  and  long  life." 
This  petition  was  accompanied  by  a  paper 
containing  the  signatures  of  all  the  petitioners, 
attached  to  a  contract  or  covenant  in  the  fol- 
lowing terms : 

"  We  promise  his  lordship,  the  ambassador  of 
the  most  serene  king  of  Great  Britain,  that  we 
will  go  to  settle  in  Virginia,  a  part  of  his  Maj- 
esty's dominions,  at  the  earliest  time  practicable, 
and  this  under  the  conditions  set  forth  in  the 


I'M 


m 


n^ 


^ 


^^rt^^ 


-A    S 


-/ 


2      >'-.^^     -^ 


♦^  c/  r  n^'i-^l  ^  '*]  > 


0 


c^' 


s 


)        /      h     T     7^     J f- 


1 


V 


^ 


^ 


N» 


i 


\ 


lamm 


r  t  r  >■    ^  y  ./  " 


'J 

0 


?i 


..Jrf^-'^'^f' 


t.w.VL4**OC 


iiS^iS&Sti 


■*.'  >.i,J.  ii>i.:»t!fi81«i>Si*»*«»**'-**'***' 


M 


Chap.  II.    t 

1621.      I 
( 


Promises    ^ 
of  fealty,    t 

t 
C 


a 

a 

F 

s 

r 

s 


ti 


j..^ 


■,;l'-i|j.  .*^.^,v      ,'^,^.^^ 


THE  COMPANY'S  ANSWER. 


163 


11. 


articles   which   we  have   communicated   to   his  chap.  n. 
said   lordship,  the  ambassador,  and  not  other-     1621. 
wise.    ' 

Sir  Dudley  Carleton  favored  the  project  of 
the  Leyden  Walloons.*  Some  of  their  demands 
he  deemed  "  extravaj^ant "  in  certain  points,  but 
thought  that  if  his  Majesty  should  approve  the 
expedition,  these  features  might  be  modified. 
The  Lords  in  Council  referred  the  application 
to  the  Virginia  Company.  The  Company's  Angmt 
answer  was  not  altogether  adverse.  They  did 
"  not  conceive  it  any  inconvenience  at  present 
to  suffer  sixty  families  of  Walloons  and  French- 
men not  exceeding  the  number  of  three  hundred 
persons  to  go  and  inhabit  in  Virginia  ;  the  said 
persons  resolving  and  taking  oath  to  become  his 
Majesty's  faithful  and  obedient  subjects :  and 
being  willing  as  they  make  profession  to  agree 
in  points  of  faith,  so  likewise  to  be  conformable 

'  British  State  Papers  :  Holland.  1622,  Jan. — March. 
Bundle  No.  145.  Indorsed  :  "  Supplication  of  certaine  Wallons 
and  French  who  are  desirous  to  goe  into  Verginia.  1622." 
The  date  should  be  r62i,  since  the  petition  was  inclosed  in 
Sir  Dudley  Carleton 's  letter  of  July  21,  162 1  (see  above). 
"  I  required  of  him  his  demands  in  writing,  with  the 
signatures  of  such  as  were  to  bear  part  therein,  both  which 
I  send  your  Honor  herewith." 

The  error  is  repeated  in  Documents  relative  to  the  Colo- 
nial History  of  New  York,  Vol.  HI.,  p,  9,  where  a  transla- 
tion of  this  petition  is  given.  For  the  original  French,  see 
the  Appendix  to  the  present  volume. 

'He  refers  to  it  again,  February  5,  1621  [1622,  n.  s.]  : 
"  Within  these  few  months  divers  inhabitants  of  this  coun- 
try to  a  considerable  number  of  familyes  have  been  suters 
unto  me,  to  procure  them  a  place  of  habitation  amongst  his 
Ma*'*"  subjects  in  those  parts." — Documents  relative  to  the 
Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Vol.  HI.,  p.  7. 


iVi' 


I 


''^m 


164 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap,  II.  to  the  form  of  government  now  established  in 
i6ri.  the  Church  of  England."  But  the  Company 
gave  no  encouragement  to  the  expectation  of 
material  help  for  the  emigration.  They  deem 
it  "  so  royal  a  favor  in  his  Majesty,  and  so  sin- 
gular a  benefit "  to  those  Walloons  and  French- 
men, to  be  admitted  to  live  in  that  fruitful  land, 
under  the  protection  and  government  of  so 
mighty  and  pious  a  monarch,  that  they  ought 
not  10  expect  of  his  sacred  Majesty  any  aid  of 
shipping  "or  other  chargeable  favor."  As  for 
themselves,  "  their  stock  is  so  utterly  exhausted 
by  thes"^  three  last  years'  supplies,"  that  "  they 
are  not  able  to  give  them  any  help,  other  than 
their  advice  and  counsel  as  to  tne  cheapest 
transportation  of  themselves  and  their  goods, 
sibie      and  the  most  frugal  and  profitable  management 

requests,  ^^  j-j^gjj.  affairs."  The  request  of  the  emigrants 
that  they  might  be  allowed  to  live  in  a  distinct 
body  by  themselves,  was  also  thought  inadmiss- 
ible. The  Company  "conceive  that  for  the 
prosperity  and  principally  the  securing  of  the 
plantation  in  his  Majesty's  obedience,  it  is  not 
expedient  that  the  said  families  should  set  down 
in  one  gross  and  entire  body,  which  the  demands 
specified,  but  that  they  should  rather  be  placed 
by  convenient  numbers  in  the  principal  cities, 
boroughs  and  corporations  in  Virginia,  as  them- 
selves shall  choose  :  there  being  given  them  such 
proportion  of  land,  and  aii  other  privileges  and 
benefits  whatsoever,  in  as  ample  manner  as  to 
the  natural  English."  This  course  the  Com- 
pany "  out   of   their   own   experience   do   con- 


M 


il 


-^  I 


hi!; 


THE  CORRESPONDENCE  CEASES. 


165 


ceive  likely  to  prove  better,  and  more  comfort-  chap.ii. 
able  to  the  said  Walloons  and  Frenchmen,  than     i67i. 
that  other  which  they  desire."' 

The  correspondence  between  the  Walloons  of 
Leyden  and  the  Council  for  Virginia  went  no 
further.^      Its  discontinuance  can  be  easily  ex- 

'  The  humble  answere  of  His  Ma"'*  Councell  for  Vir- 
ginia concerning  certaine  Articles  put  up  by  some  Walloons 
and  Frenchemen  desirous  to  goe  to  Virginia.  See  the  Ap- 
pendix to  this  volume. 

■  Eight  years  later,  a  similar  application  was  made  to  the 
English  government,  in  behalf  of  a  body  of  French  Prot-       j^ne 
estants,  asking  for  encouragement  to  settle  in  Virginia.     In       1629. 
1629,  Antoine  de  Ridouet,  Baron  de  Sanc^,  addressed  the 
following  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  : 

MONSEIGNEUR  : 

Le  desir  que  j  'ay  de  servir  Sa  Majesty  et  me  retirer  en 
ce  pays  issy  avec  ma  famille  et  tout  ce  qui  j  'ay  en  France 
aussy  pour  faire  habituer  des  franssois  protestans  en  Vir- 
ginie  pour  y  planter  des  vignes,  olives,  faire  des  soyes,  et  du 
sel  me  fait  vous  suplier  tres-humblement  d'  obienir  de  Sa 
Majeste  quil  luy  plaise  m'honorer  de  letres  de  gentilhomme 
de  sa  chambre  privee.  Avec  letres  de  Denison  pour  moy 
et  mon  fils.  Ei  quil  luy  plaise  donner  ordre  cl  Monsf'igneur 
I'Ambassadeur  qui  ira  en  France  d'obtenir  comme  ayant 
I'honneur  d'estre  son  domestique,  liberie  et  surete  pour  moy 
avec  la  jouissence  de  mon  bien  afin  que  jiar  ce  moyen  et 
soubs  la  faveur  c  sa  Majesty  je  puisse  issy  faire  transporter 
ma  famille  et  mon  bien  pour  estre  plus  prest  a  servir  sa 
Majeste  et  vous  uussy  mon  seigneur.  Sanc6. 

(State  Papers,  Colonial  Series,  Vol.  V.,  No.  14.  Public 
Record  Office,  London.) 

The  Baron  de  Sanc6  was  a  devoted  follower  of  the  Duke 
of  Soubise,  with  whom,  after  the  siege  of  La  Rochelle,  he 
took  refuge  in  England.  His  proposal  to  form  a  colony  of 
French  Protestants  in  America  was  favorably  entertained 
by  the  government.  Elaborate  plans  for  the  voyage  and  the 
settlement  wi  re  drawn  up  by  the  leader  in  consultation  with 
the  attorney^eneral  ;  and  after  many  delays  the  refugees 
embarked.  Their  destination  was  Carolina  ;  but  they  were 
landed  in  Virginia.  Of  this  colony,  which  maintained  a 
languid  existence  for  a  few  yea-s,  particulars  will  be  given 
in  a  subsequent  volume. 


1 66 


NEW  NETHERLaND. 


June 
3. 


June  21, 
1623. 


Chap.  II.  plained.  The  project  of  a  Dutch  West  India 
1621.  Company  had  long  been  agitated,  and  it  was  now 
about  to  be  carried  into  effect.  While  Jesse  de 
Forest  was  in  communication  with  the  British 
ambassador  at  the  Hague,  the  States-General  of 
the  United  Provinces,  sitting  in  the  old  palace 
of  the  Binnenhof,  in  the  same  city,  were  prepar- 
ing a  patent  for  such  a  company,  and  con- 
ferring upon  it  vast  powers  and  privileges.  The 
final  organization,  however,  was  delayed  for  two 
years  more.  Meanwhile  the  government  be- 
came aware  of  the  designs  of  the  Walloons  and 
French  in  Leyden.  Jesse  de  Forest,  the  intel- 
ligent and  capable  leader  of  the  proposed  move- 
ment, had  not  desisted  from  the  effort  to  bring 
it  to  a  successful  consummation.  Before  the 
West  India  Company  had  actually  commenced 
its  operations,  he  submitted  his  cherished  plan 
of  emigration  to  the  Provincial  States  of  Hol- 
land. That  body  referred  it  to  the  directors  of 
the  new  Company,  who  reported  most  favorably. 
"They  have  examined  the  paper  relative  to  the 
families  to  be  conveyed  to  the  West  Indies,  and 
are  of  opinion  that  it  is  very  advantageous  for 
the  Company,  and  therefore  that  an  effort  ought 
to  be  made  to  promote  it,  with  a  promise  that 
they  shall  be  employed."  It  was  suggested, 
however,  that  action  upon  the  subject  be  post- 
ooned  until  the  Board  of  Directors  be  formed. 
The  assembly,  after  due  consideration,  resolved 
that  such  promise  should  be  given,  with  th? 
knowledge  of  the  magistracy.' 

'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  Vol.  I.,  p.  28. 


April  21, 
1622. 


i 


PROVIDENTIAL  ASPECTS. 


167 


A  mind  disposed  to  observe  the  events  of  his- 
tory as  ordered  by  a  divine  Providence,  may 
notice  with  interest  the  circumstances  by  which 
the  course  of  these  two  important  migrations 
was  determined.  The  Enghsh  exiles  purposed 
to  seek  a  home  near  the  Hudson  river.  Dis- 
couraged in  their  application  to  England  for  aid, 
they  turned  to  Holland  ;  but  the  Dutch  were 
debarred  at  that  moment  from  accepting  them 
as  colonists,  and  they  went  to  Massachusetts. 
Following  their  example,  the  Walloons  sought 
first  the  patronage  of  the  Virginia  Company, 
having  in  view  perhaps  the  very  same  region 
for  their  settlement  ;  but  yielding  to  the  solici- 
tations of  Holland,  now  ready  to  welcome  their 
services,  they  found  a  home  in  New  Netherland, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  river.  Thus,  like 
Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  in  patriarchal  story, 
each  band  received,  as  from  hands  "  guided  wit- 
tingly," the  appropriate  and  intended  blessing. 

The  enterprising  Walloon  lost  no  time  in  urg- 
ing his  request  before  the  States-General  of  the 
United  Netherlands,  On  the  twenty-seventh  of 
August,  the  councilors  of  the  States  of  Holland 
reported  to  that  august  body  upon  a  petition 
which  had  been  submitted  to  them  for  their  con- 
sideration. It  appears  from  that  report  that 
Jesse  de  Forest  has  applied  to  the  States-General 
for  their  permission  to  enroll  families  or  individ- 
ual colonists  professing  the  Reformed  religion, 
who  maybe  inclined  to  undertake  the  voyage  to 
the  West  Indies,'  for  the  advancement  and  promo- 

'  By  the  West  Indies,  it  was  common  at  that  day,  to  desig- 


Chap.  II. 
1622. 


August 
27. 


il 


1 68 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


^   I 


Chap.  II.  tion  of  the  West  India  Company.  The  report 
1622.  favors  the  granting  of  the  request :  and  Jesse  de 
Forest  is  permitted  to  enroll  all  families  having 
the  required  qualifications,  to  be  transported  to 
the  West  Indies,  there  to  be  serviceable  to  the 
country  :  on  condition  that  the  said  DeForest 
shall  do  this  with  the  knowledge  and  concurrence 
of  the  several  cities  in  which  he  shall  make  this 
enrollment :  and  that  he  shall  be  held  to  make 
return  of  the  same  to  the  States  of  Holland.' 


nate  the  whole  continent  of  America.  Jean  de  Laet,  one  of 
the  directors  of  the  West  India  Company,  wrote  a  "  Descrip- 
tion of  the  West  Indies,"  the  third  chapter  of  which,  entitled 
"Virginia,"  included  an  account  of  New  Netherland.  Bau- 
dartius  speaks  of  "  divers  families,"  most  of  whom  were  En- 
glish Browuists,  as  going  in  1624  and  earlier  "from  Hol- 
lanH  to  Virginia  in  the  West  Indies." — Uoc.  Hist,  of  N.  Y., 
IV.,  131.  In  1632,  the  ambassadors  of  the  States-General 
at  the  English  court,  speak  of  the  Mauritius.  [Hudson] 
river  "/'«  the  West  Indies;"  and  in  1665,  they  mention 
'^  New  Netherland  in  the  West  Indies." — Doc.  rel.  to  Col. 
Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  I.,  p.  56  ;  II.,  pp.  341-343- 

'  La  requete,  presentee  par  Jesse  des  Forest  aux  hauts  ct 
puissants  les  Etats  generaux  des  Provinces  Unies,  a  ete  ren- 
voy^e  le  16®  d'AoCit  dernier  aux  Etats  de  Hollande  qui  I'ont 
mis  tutre  les  mains  de  leurs  conseillers.  II  resuUe  de  leur 
examen,  que  Jesse  des  Forest  desirerait  obtenir  la  permis- 
sion d'enroler  des  families  ou  colonistes  de  la  religion 
reform(l'e,  inclines  a  faire  le  voyage  aux  Indes  occidentales 
pour  I'avancement  et  le  progres  dc  la  Compngnie  des  Indes 
Occidentales — et  disposant  a  la  requete  du  dit  Jesse  des 
Forest  lui  accordent  d'enroler  toutes  les  families  ayant  la 
qualite  requise  afin  d'etre  transportees  aux  Indes  occi- 
dentales pour  etre  utiles  an  service  du  pays,  sous  condition 
que  le  dit  des  Forest  le  fasse  avec  connaissance  et  correspond- 
ance  mutuelles  des  villes  respectives  ou  il  fera  1-,  dit  enrole- 
ment  et  qu'il  sera  tenu  d'en  faire  rapport  aux  Etats  de  Hol- 
lande. 

Ainsi  fait  d  la  Haye  le  27  d'Aoflt  1622  parordonnance  des 
Conseillers.      (Signe)    Van    der    Wolf. — Copie    des    actes 


THE  "NEW  NETHERLAND"  SAILS.        169 


The  six  months   that    followed    were  doubt-  ChEp.  11. 
less    occupied     in    preparations    for    the    long-     ,623. 
contemplated  emigration  ;  and  early  in  March,    March. 
1623,  the  ship  New  Netherland  sailed  from  the 
Texel,    having   on    board  a  company  of  thirty 
families,  "  mostly   Walloons."  '     The  emigrants 
.vere  bound  for  the  site  of   the  settlement  now 
projected   by  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
at  the  mouth  of  the   Hudson   river.     Nearly  a    March 
hundred  years  had  passed  since  the  Florentine     ^^"^1 
explorer   Verazzano,    sailing  under  the   flag  of     1524. 
France,    had    entered    the    Narrows,    and    dis- 
covered  that   "  most  beautiful  bay,"  which  now 
invites  and  shelters  the  commerce  of  the  world. 
The   intervening  century  had  been  one  of  rest- 
less adventure.     Many  a  daring   navigator  had 
searched   the  Atlantic  coast,  seeking  for  a  pas- 
sage to  the  I'ldies,  or  hoping  to  discover  the 
fabled  country  abounding  in  gold  and  precious 
stones.    But  the  "great  river  of  the  North"  had 
remained  hidden,  until  visited  in  1609  by  Henry 
Hudson.     And  now,  fuiirteen  years  later,  the  first 
permanent  settlement  was  to  be  effected  upon 
its  banks  by  colonists  from  Protestant  Holland. 

The  little  ship — of  two  hundred  and  sixty 
tons — took  a  southerly  course,  by  the  Canary 
Islands.     The  vessel  was  new  and  staunch,  and 


echevinaux  de  Leide,  27  Aoftt,  ibi-i.  (Communicated  by 
Dr.  W.  N.  du  Rieu,  bibIioth(5caire  de  la  bibliotheqae  Wal- 
lonne  a  I-eide.) 

'  Documentary  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  vol. 
ni.,  p.  35. — Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  vol.  I.,  pp.  149,  181,  283. 


I70 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


May. 


,( I 


Chap.  II.  its  commander,  Cornelis  Jacobsen  May,  was  an 
1623.  experienced  seaman.  Favorable  winds  were  en- 
countered, off  the  coast  of  Guiana,  and  early  in  the 
month  of  May  the  "  New  Netherland  "  reached 
the  mouth  of  the  Mauritius,  or  Hudson  river. 
It  was  a  short  trip  for  those  days,  and  the  sea- 
son was  a  pleasant  one  ;  but  the  discomforts  of 
the  passengers — numbering  perhaps  one  hundred 
and  fifty  persons — were  likely  to  be  considerable, 
in  the  crowded  cabin.  Great  must  have  been 
their  joy,  when  that  "  sweet  and  cheerful  pros- 
pect,"  of  which  travelers  have  spoken  ever  since. 

The  bay  greeted  their  eyes: — the  wooded  shores  rising 
NewYork.  ^'^  either  side  of  the  Narrows,  and  receding  to 
encircle  the  broad  harbor  ;  the  beautiful  expanse 
of  the  bay,  over  whose  waters,  teeming  with  fish, 
flocks  of  birds  were  seen  darting  in  search  of 
their  prey.  But  an  unexpected  sight  awaited 
the  voyagers,  as  they  approached  the  land.  A 
French  ship  lay  in  the  harbor.  Her  errand  was 
to  take  possession  of  the  country  discovered  by 
Verazzano  in  the  preceding  century,  and  now 
claimed  by  France  in  virtue  of  that  discovery. 
The  captain  was  about  to  set  up  the  standard  of 
the  French  king  upon  the  soil  of  New  Nether- 
land. The  company  of  peaceable  emigrants  could 
scarcely  have  diverted  him  from  his  purpose  : 
but  happily  there  chanced  to  be  a  Dutch  vessel 
of  several  guns,  lying  a  short  distance  above  : 
and  the  remonstrances  of  the  colonists,  seconded 
by  a  show  of  force  from  the  "  Mackerel,"  were 
effectual.  The  unwelcome  visitor  soon  disap- 
peared in  the  offing,  and  our  Walloons  were  free 
to  land  upon  Manhattan  Island. 


LANDING  ON  MANHATTAN  ISLAND.       I  71 


Til?  settlers  found  a  few  huts  standing  near  Chap.  11. 
the  southern  end  of  the  island.  A  trading-post  1673. 
had  been  maintained  here  for  several  years  by 
the  merchants  of  Amsterdam  ;  and  here  Adriaen 
Block,  a  mariner  in  their  employ,  passed  the 
winter  of  the  year  161 3,  building  a  ship  to  replace 
his  vessel,  which  had  been  burned.  The  first 
European  child  born  in  this  region,  Jean  Vigne, 
of  Huguenot  parents,  here  saw  the  light,  in 
1614.  But  the  permanent  occupation  of  the  site 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  dates  from  the  arrival 
of  the  ship  "  New  Netherland,"  in  May,   1623. 

The  little  company  of  passengers  soon  dis- 
persed. Eight  of  them  were  landed  at  Manhat-  The 
tan,  there  to  take  possession  for  the  West  India  ^g^rge' 
Company.  Two  families  went  to  the  eastward, 
to  seek  a  home  near  the  Fresh  or  Connecticut 
river.  Four  couples,  who  had  been  married  at 
sea,  were  sent  by  the  first  opportunity  to  form  a 
settlement  on  the  South  river,  or  Delaware, 
about  four  miles  below  the  present  city  of  Phila- 
delphia. Eighteen  families  remained  on  the 
ship,  which  now  proceeded  up  the  North  river. 
Landing  near  the  spot  where  the  city  of  Albany 
now  stands,  the  settlers  built  a  fort  which  they 
called  Orange.  Around  this  fort  huts  of  bark 
were  hastily  constructed.  Soon  the  friendly 
natives  came  with  presents  of  peltry,  and  a  brisk 
trade  was  opened  with  the  Mohawks  and  other 
tribes. 

A  ship  that  reached  Holland  in  the  follow- 
ing August,  carried  letters  from  New  Netherland, 
making   a   cheerful    report   of    the   settlement. 


172 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


J  i 


'  s' 

if!    ijsi 


Chap.  II.   "We  were  much  gratified,"  wrote  the  colonists, 
1623.     "on   arriving  in   this    country.      Here  we  found 
August,   beautiful  rivers,  bubbling  fountains  flowing  down 
into  the  valleys;  basins  of  running  waters  in  the 
flatlands  ;  agreeable  fruits  in  the  woods,  such  as 
strawberries,    walnuts,    and    wild    grapes.     The 
woods  abound   with  venison.      There  is  consid- 
erable fish  in  the  rivers  ;  good  tillage  land  ;  here 
is,  especially,   free  coming   and   going,  without 
fear  of  the  naked  natives  of  the  country.      Had 
we  cows,   hogs,  and   other  cattle  fit  for  food — 
which  we  daily    expect  in    the    first    ships — we 
would  not  wish  to  return   to  Holland.' 
1628.  By  the  autumn  of  the  year  1628,  the  village  of 

New  Amsterdam,  lying  close  to  the  fort  on  the 
southern  point  of  Manhattan  Island,  numbered 
two  hundred  and  seventy  souls.  Nearly  all  ^he 
settlers  who  sought  to  establish  themselves  al  the 
South  and  Fresh  rivers  had  returned.  Troubles 
with  the  Indians  had  broken  ud  the  settlement 
commenced  so  hopefully  at  Orange,  and  all  but 
a  few  men  left  for  a  garrison  had  removed  to 
Manhattan.  Among  others  came  George  de 
Rapalie,  and  his  wife  Catalina  Trico,  with  their 
daughter  Sarah,  born  at  Orange  on  the  ninth 
day  of  June,  1625. 

The  names  of  George  de  Rapalie  and  Cata- 
lina Trico  are  the  only  names  of  the  Walloon  or 
French  colonists  brought  over  by  the  New 
Netherland,  in  1623,  that  have  been  known 
hitherto.  No  list  of  the  first  settlers  of  New 
Amsterdam  has  come  down  to  us  :  and  no  records 
of  the  colony,  for  the  first  fifteen  years  of  its 


FIRST  SETTLERS  OF  NEW  YORK. 


^72> 


1639. 


existence,  have  been  preserved.  The  earliest  chap^iL 
council  minutes,  and  other  historical  documents  1623- 
in  the  possession  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
date  only  as  far  back  as  the  year  1638  ;  while  the 
registers  of  the  most  ancient  ecclesiastical  body 
in  the  state,  the  Reformed  Protestant  Dutch 
Church  of  New  York,  commence  in  1639. 

In  the  absence  of  other  sources  of  knowl- 
edge, the  list  of  Walloons  and  Frenchmen  pre- 
sented in  July,  162 1,  to  Sir  Dudley  Carleton, 
assumes  a  special  interest.  Among  the  sixty 
names  of  families  desiring  to  emigrate  to  Amer- 
ica, it  would  seem  highly  probable  that  the 
names  of  some,  at  least,  of  the  thirty  families 
that  emigrated  to  New  Netherland  less  than 
two  years  after,  might  occur.  The  presumption 
is  strengthened  by  the  evidence  that  has  been 
given  above,  showing  that  meanwhile  the  pro- 
ject was  not  abandoned ;  that  the  leader  of  the 
company  that  applied  to  the  English  govern- 
ment for  permission  to  go  to  Virginia,  afterwards 
sought  the  approval  of  the  States-General  of 
Holland :  and  that  within  six  months  of  the 
time  when  the  "  New  Netherland "  sailed  for 
Manhattan,  he  was  engaged  in  obtaining  recruits 
for  the  intended  colony. 

That  Jesse  de  Forest  came  to  America  with 
the  band  of  emigrants  he  had  organized,  can 
scarcely  be  doubted.  In  January  following 
the  departure  of  the  Walloons  for  New  Nether- 
land, Gerard  de  Forest,  dyer,  petitioned  the 
burgomasters  of  Leyden,  representing  that  his 
brother,  Jesse  de- Forest,  had  lately  left  for  the 


January 

24, 

1684. 


' 


iU 


i: 


174 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  II.  West  Indies,  and  asking  that  he  might  be  allowed 
1624.     to  take  his  place  in  the  practice  of  his  trade.' 

The  Walloon  leader  brought  with  him  his 
wife,  Marie  du  Cloux,  and  her  five  children.''  A 
young  Huguenot  student  of  medicine  accom- 
panied the  De  Forest  family.  He  was,  perhaps, 
already  betrothed  to  the  only  daughter  of  the 
house.  Jean  Mousnier  de  la  Montague  was  a 
native  of  the  town  of  Saintes,  in  the  province 
of  Saintonge,  in  France,  and   had   come  to  the 

'  Requete  de  Gerard  des  Forest,  teinturier,  demeurant  a 
Leide,  ou  il  dit  que  son  frere  Jesse  des  Forest  est  recemment 
parti  pour  les  Indes  Occidentales  et  a  qui  le  Magistral  avait 
jadis  permis  de  colorer  des  serges  et  des  camelots,  il  de- 
mande  maintenant  de  remplacer  son  frere  qui  est  absent, 
pour  exercer  le  meme  metier.  Accorde  en  Janvier,  1624. 
— Copie  des  actes  du  24  Janvier,  1624.  (Commui.icated 
by  Dr.  VV.  N.  du  Rieu.) 

The  conjecture  that  Jesse  de  Forest  may  have  joined  the 
naval  expedition  against  Brazil,  that  left  Holland  in  the 
latter  part  of  December,  1623,  and  perished  in  the  course  of 
that  ill-starred  enterprise  (History  of  Harlem,  N.  Y.,  pp.  93, 
94),  is  certainly  unwarranted.  His  disappearance  from 
Leyden,  at  the  very  time  when  the  scheme  of  emigration 
which  he  had  long  sought  to  promote,  reached  its  fulfillment, 
can  be  better  accounted  for  by  the  presumption  that  he  emi- 
grated with  the  body  of  colonists  who  sailed  in  that  year  for 
New  Netherland. 

'  The  children  of  Jesse  des  Forest  (du  Forest,  or  de  For- 
est) and  Marie  du  Cloux,  were  Jean,  Henri  (born  in  1606), 
Rachel,  Jesse  (born  in  Leyden,  March  i,  1615),  Isaac  (born 
in  Leyden,  July  7,  16 16),  Israel  (born  in  Leyden,  and  bap- 
tized October  7,  161 7),  and  Philippe,  born  in  Leyden,  and 
baptized  September  13,  1620.  (Records  of  the  Walloon 
Church,  and  Archives  of  the  City  of  Leyden.)  Two  of 
these  doubtless  died  young. 

For  an  account  of  the  De  Forest  family  in  America,  de- 
scended from  Isaac  de  Forest,  son  of  Jesse,  see  the  invalu- 
able History  of  Harlem,  N.  Y.,  by  Mr.  James  Riker,  pp. 
571-574. 


DEATH  OF  JESSE  DE  FOREST. 


175 


city  of  Leyden  a  few  years  before  the  emigra- 
tion, to  attend  the  University. 

There  were  other  signers  of  the  Leyden  peti- 
tion, whose  names  may  be  recognized  more  or  less 
readily,  in  spite  of  the  Batavian  disguises  in 
which  they  appear,  beyond  the  gap  of  fifteen  or 
twenty  years  in  the  records  of  New  Amsterdam. 
Such  are  the  names  of  De  la  Mot,  Du  Four, 
Le  Rou,  Le  Roy,  Du  Pon,  Ghiselin,  Cornille, 
De  Trou,  De  Crenne,  Damont,  Campion,  De 
Carpentier,  Gille,  Catoir,  de  Croy,  Maton,  Lam- 
bert, Martin,  Caspar,  and  others. 

Within  three  years  from  the  time  when  these 
colonists  reached  New  Netherland,  their  leader 
died.  The  widow  of  Jesse  de  Forest  soon  re- 
turned with  her  family  to  Holland,  accompanied 
by  the  young  medical  student,  Jean  de  la  Mon- 
tagne,  whose  marriage  to  Rachel  de  Forest  took 
place  in  Leyden  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of 
November,  1626.  Ten  years  later,  Doctor  de  la 
Montagne,  now  known  as  a  "learned  Huguenot 
physician,"  went  back  to  New  Netherland,  with 
his  wife  and  children,  and  at  once  took  a  leading 
place  in  the  colony. 

Meanwhile,  New  Amsterdam  had  become  the 
home  of  other  French-speaking  immigrants. 
Peter  Minuit,  the  second  director,  was  himself  a 
Walloon.  His  family,  during  the  persecutions 
in  the  southern  provinces,  half  a  century  before, 
had  taken  refuge  in  Wesel,  where  Minuit  was  a 
deacon  of  the  Walloon  Church  the  time  of  his 
appointment  as  director. 

It  was  during  his  term   of   ofifice  that   New 


Chap.  II, 
I62C. 


1636. 


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Minuit 

the 
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1626- 

1632. 


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NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Angoat 
11. 


•  ciiap.n.  Amsterdam  was  visited  for  the  first  time  by  a 
1628.  minister  of  religion.  Jonas  Michaelius,  a  clergy- 
April  7.  man  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland,  came 
over  in  the  year  1628.  It  is  not  known  how 
long  he  remained ;  but  a  congregation  was 
gathered,  and  public  worship  was  instituted,  both 
for  the  Ficjnch  and  for  the  Dutch  inhabitants. 
Two  elders  were  chosen,  the  one  of  whom 
was  "the  honorable  director"  himself.  "We 
have  had,"  writes  the  worthy  pastor,  "  at  the 
first  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  full 
fifty  communicants,  Walloons  and  Dutch:  not 
without  great  joy  and  comfort  for  so  many. 
Of  these,  a  portion  made  their  first  confession 
of  faith  before  us,  and  others  exhibited  their 
church  certificates.  Some  had  forgotten  to 
bring  their  certificates  with  them,  not  thinking 
that  a  church  would  be  formed  and  established 
here ;  and  some,  who  had  brought  them,  had 
lost  them  unfortunately  in  a  general  conflagra- 
tion ;  but  they  were  admitted  upon  the  satisfac- 
tory testimony  of  others  to  whom  they  were 
known,  and  also  upon  their  daily  good  deport- 
ment. We  administer  the  Holy  Sacrament  of 
the  Lord  once  in  four  months,  provisionally, 
until  a  larger  number  of  people  shall  otherwise 
require.  The  V/alloons  and  French  have  no 
service  on  Sundays,  other  than  that  in  the  Dutch 
language,  of  which  they  understand  very  little. 
A  portion  of  the  Walloons  are  going  back  to 
Fatherland,  either  because  their  years  here  are 
expired,  or  also  because  some  are  not  very 
serviceable  to  the  Company.     Some  of   them 


II 


e. 
to 
re 

ry 
:m 


RELIGIOUS  SERVICES  IN  FRENCH.        I  77 

live  far  away,  and  could  not  come  on  account  of  chap.n. 
the  heavy  rains  and  storms,  so  that  it  was  i678. 
neither  advisable,  nor  was  it  possible,  to  ap- 
point any  special  service  for  so  small  a  number 
with  so  much  uncertainty.  Nevertheless,  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  administered  to  them  in  the 
French  language,  and  according  to  the  French 
mode,  with  a  preceding  discourse,  which  I  had 
before  me  in  writing,  as  I  could  not  trust  myself 
extemporaneously."' 

At  an  early  day,  settlements  were  commenced 
by  some  of  the  Walloons  and  French,  on  the 
neighboring  shores,  and  at  the  upper  end  ofgayofthe 
Manhattan  Island.  Of  this  fact  we  have  an  WaUoon*. 
Intimation  in  the  letter  just  quoted  ;  from  which 
it  would  appear  that  already,  in  1628,  a  number 
of  these  colonists  were  living  at  some  distance 
from  New  Amsterdam.  The  scanty  records  of 
these  ancient  times,  however,  afford  us  no 
more  definite  information  on  the  subject.  In 
1636,  William  Adrianse  Bennet  and  Jacques 
Bentyn  purchased  a  tract  of  land  at  Gowanus ; 
and  in  the  following  year,  George  de  Rapalie 
bought  the  farm  that  long  remained  in  the 
j)ossession  of  his  descendants,  on  a  bay  opposite 
to  Corlear's  Hook,  which  became  known  as  the 
Waal-bocht,  or  Wallabout.  Both  of  these  local- 
ities are  now  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn.  Tradition  assigns  a  much  earlier 
tlate  to  the  settlement  at  Wallabout :    and  the 


'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State 
of  New  York.     Vol.  II.,  pp.  764-765. 


1.1 


178 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


1664. 


July  28, 
1646. 


Chap. n.  language  of  Michaelius  certainly  favors  the 
1628-  supposition  that  some  of  the  first  colonists  had 
found  a  home  on  the  "  bay  of  the  Walloons." 
Others  established  themselves  on  Staten  Island. 
At  a  later  day — in  1658 — the  village  of  New 
Harlem  was  laid  out,  on  the  northern  end  of 
Manhattan  Island ;  and  of  thirty-two  male  in- 
habitants of  adult  age  in  1661,  nearly  one-half 
were  Frenchmen  and  Walloons. 

The  appointment  of  Petrus  Stryvesant  to  be 
director-general  of  the  colony,  marked  an  import- 
ant epoch  in  the  social  as  well  as  in  the  political 
life  of  the  settlement  on  Manhattan  Island.  Stuy- 
vesant,  w^e  have  seen,  had  married  in  Holland 
Judith  Bayard,  ^he  daughter  of  a  French  Prot- 
estant clergyman  :  and  he  was  accompanied  to 
America  by  his  widowed  sister,  who  had  married 
Samuel  Bayard,  the  son  of  the  refugee.  This 
two-fold  alliance  with  a  Huguenot  family  of 
high  position,  must  have  brought  the  new  gov- 
ernor into  close  relations  with  the  Walloons  and 
French  who  had  preceded  him  to  New  Amster- 
dam ;  while  it  doubtless  contributed  not  a  little 
to  strengthen  the  interest  that  he  felt,  as  his 
correspondence  shows,  in  the  exiles  for  con- 
science' sake  who  sought  a  home  in  the  province 
during  his  long  administration. 

For  several  years  after  Governor  Stuyvesant's 
arrival,  the  ships  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Com- 
pany continued  to  bring  over  to  New  Amsterdam 
small  bodies  of  French  colonists,  who  had  prob- 
ably found  a  temporary  home  in  Holland.  The 
greater  number  of  these  emigrants  came  from 


ARRIVALS  FROM  FRANCE. 


179 


1664, 


the  northern  provinces  of  France.  Isaac  Bethlo,  Chap.  li., 
a  native  of  Calais,  in  Picardy,  arrived  in  1652,  1647  - 
and  crave  his  name  to  the  island  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York,  known  as  Bedloe's  Island.  The 
three  brothers  De  la  Grange,  who  came  from 
Amsterdam  in  1655  were  natives  of  Nor- 
mandy. Of  ihe  sj'iie  province  was  Jean  Perie, 
noted  as  the  fist  trader  that  sent  out  a  ship 
from  New  Amstei  da  n  with  a  cargo  for  Canada. 
The  first  settlers  oi  P>ushwick,  on  Long  Island — 
Toussaint  Briell,  P"ran9ois  Orion  la  Capelle, 
Jean  Casjou,  Claude  Barbier,  and  Antoine 
Jeroe,  arrived  about  the  same  time,  and  origin- 
ated probably  in  the  same  part  of  France. 

But  a  fresh  outbreak  of  religious  persecution 
was  now  at  hand  in  France,  the  consequences  of 
which  would  soon  be  seen  in  a  much  more  con- 
siderable emigration  to  America.  During  the 
early  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  the 
Protestants  of  France  had  enjoyed  comparativ^e 
tranquillity.  In  the  political  troubles  that  in- 
troduced that  reign,  they  had  given  such  proof 
of  their  loyalty  to  the  crown  as  to  call  forth  the 
thanks  of  the  young  king  and  his  minister.  Car- 
dinal Mazarin.  In  recognition  of  these  services, 
Louis  had  confirmed  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and 
all  other  edicts  and  regulations  in  favor  of  his 
subjects  of  the  Reformed  religion.  Various  in- 
fractions of  those  laws,  which  had  been  per- 
mitted to  occur,  were  redressed ;  places  of  wor- 
ship were  re-opened  ;  Protestants  were  admitted 
to  public  offices  from  which  they  had  been  ex- 
cluded ;  religious  liberty  prevailed  to  a  greater 


1648. 


"i'-l 


■■I-  fm; 


i8o 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap.  n. 
1647- 
1664. 


Growth 

of 

perseou- 

tion. 


Dfloomber 

16, 

1656. 


1867. 
1659. 


degree  than  at  any  time  since  the  reign  of  Henry 
IV.  But  the  tolerant  course  adopted  by  the 
government  was  watched  with  growing  displeas- 
ure by  the  clergy  of  the  Church  of  Rome  :  and 
soon  the  king,  yielding  to  their  persuasions,  en- 
tered upon  a  reactionary  course  which  was  to 
culminate  in  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  and  in  the  suppression  of  the  Protestant 
faith  in  France.  One  by  one,  the  rights  con- 
ceded to  the  religionists  were  withdrawn. 
Among  the  first  of  these  repressive  measures, 
was  a  decree  depriving  pastors  of  the  privilege 
of  preaching  in  the  annexes,  or  out-stations,  con- 
nected with  their  charges.  Other  decrees,  rap- 
idly succeeding,  enjoined  upon  the  Protestants 
the  observance  of  the  lasts  and  feasts  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Cnurch  ;  prohibited  the  singing 
of  psalms  in  private  houses,  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
be  overheard  in  the  streets  ;  and  required  Protest- 
ants to  kneel,  like  the  Roman  Catholics,  when 
the  host  was  carried  in  public  procession.  The 
clergy,  encouraged  by  the  attitude  which  the 
government  was  now  assuming  toward  the  here- 
tics, inflicted  upon  them  various  forms  of  perse- 
cution not  yet  legalized.  The  sick  and  dying  were 
beset  by  the  monks  and  priests  with  persuasions 
and  threats,  to  induce  them  to  abjure  their  faith. 
Children  were  enticed  or  carried  off  from  their 
homes,  to  be  educated  as  Roman  Catholics. 
Judicial  rights  which  had  been  secured  to  the 
Protestants  by  the  Edict  of  Nantes  were  with- 
drawn. The  complaints  addiossed  to  the  court, 
in  view  of  these  abuses,  were  coldly  received  or 


CONDITION  OF  FRENCH  PROTESTANTS.    l8i 

unheeded.    At  length  the  government  proceeded  chap.n, 
to  break  up  the  ecclesiastical  organization  of  the     1659. 
French  churches,  by  interdicting  the  Colloquies 
and  the  national  Synods,  the  last  of  which  was 
held   in   November,  1659. 

The  Protestants  of  France  had  grown  in  num- 
bers and  in  wealth  during  the  period  of  com- 
parative repose  that  lasted  through  the  early 
years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  They  no 
longer  formed  a  political  party  in  the  land,  and 
were  now  devoting  themselves  chiefly  to  enter- 
prises of  commerce  and  manufacture.  At  least 
one-third  of  the  tradesmen  in  the  country  were 
of  the  Reformed  religion.  In  every  sea-port 
there  were  to  be  found  wealthy  Protestant  mer- 
chants, who  by  their  ability  and  integrity  com- 
manded the  confidence  even  of  the  Roman  Catho- 
lics, and  who  were  the  trusted  agents  and  cor- 
respondents of  foreign  houses.  Many  important 
branches  of  industry  were  controlled  almost  en- 
tirely by  Protestant  artisans.  Acquainting 
themselves  with  the  methods  of  business  pur- 
sued in  Protestant  England,  Germany,  and  Hol- 
land, they  adopted  very  generally  the  system  of 
combined  labor,  which  enabled  them  to  secure 
the  best  workmen,  and  to  carry  on  extensive 
business  enterprises.  The  northern  provinces 
of  the  kingdom  possessed  a  large  share  of  this 
commercial  and  industrial  wealth.  The  linen 
manufactures  of  Picardy,  Normandy,  Maine, 
and  Bretagne,  gave  employment  to  thousands  of 
families  in  the  villages  of  those  provinces,  and 
enriched  many   a   powerful  commercial  house, 


Emigra- 
tion 
from  the 
northern 
province!. 


¥  « 


lit  ' 
■  r  :  V   ' 


1     m 
_.,Sr 


!    'il 


\  :    i' 


182 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap. II.  like  that  of  Crommelin,  a  branch  of  which  a<-  a 

1657-    later  day  came  to  New  York. 

166^  ^^^^  increasing  harshness  of  the  government 

toward  its  Protestant  subjects,  at  -this  period, 
led  many  of  them  to  remove  from  the  kingdom. 
As  in  the  case  of  the  earlier  emigrations,  the 
greater  number  of  these  refugees  made  their 
way  to  Holland;  and  from  Holland  not  a  few, 
between  the  years  1657  and  1663,  crossed  over 
to  America.  For  the  most  part,  they  were 
natives  of  the  northern  provinces.  Marc  du 
Soisson,  Philippe  Casier,  Fran9ois  Dupuis,  Da- 
vid de  Marest,  Daniel  Tourneur,  Jean  Mesurole, 
Martin  Renard,  Pierre  Pia,  David  Usilie,  were 
from  Picardy.  Jean  le  Conseiller,  Robert  de  la 
Main,  Pierre  Pra,  Jean  Levelin,  Pierre  de  Marc, 
were  from  Normandy.  Arnout  du  Tois,  of 
Lisle,  Jean  le  Clercq  and  Adrien  F'ournie,  of 
Valenciennes,  Simon  Drune,  Bastien  Clement, 
and  Adrien  Vincent,  of  Tournay,  Juste  Kock- 
uyt,  of  Bruges,  Meynard  Journeay,  Jean  Ger- 
von,  Walraven  Luten,  and  Juste  Houpleine,  were 
from  Flanders.  A  few  are  mentioned  as  natives 
of  other  parts  of  France.  Jean  Lequier  and 
Pierre  Richard  came  from  Paris  ;  and  Jacques 
Cousseau,  Etienne  Gaineau,  Paul  Richard,  Jean 
Guenon,  and  Etienne  Genejoy,  came  from  La 
Rochelle. 

Other  French  colonists,  whose  places  of  birth 
are  not  recorded,  emigrated  about  this  time  to 
New  Amsterdam,  by  way  of  Holland.  We 
have  the  names  of  Charles  Fonteyn,  Simon 
Bouch^     Amadee     Fougie,    Jacques    Reneau, 


THE  WALDENSES  OF  PIEDMONT. 


183 


Jacques  Monier,  Pierre  Monier,  Matthleu  Sava-  chap.  11. 
riau,  Pierre  Grissaut,  Simon  Cormie,  Gedeon  j^^y. 
Merlet,  Louis  Louhman,  Jacques  Cossart,  Jean 
Paul  de  Rues,  Jacques  de  Beauvois,  Fran9ois 
Bon,  Louis  Lackeman,  Fran9ois  Rombouts, 
Paul  Turck,  Alexandre  Cochivier,  Jean  Apre, 
P^an^ois  Breteau,  Claude  Charie,  Guillaume  de 
Honeur,  Jacob  Kolver,  Jean  Couverts,  Antoine 
du  Chaine,  Laurent  de  Camp,  Nicolas  de  la 
Plaine,  Jean  de  la  Warde.  Though  the  fact  is 
not  expressly  stated,  it  may  be  presumed  that 
the  greater  number  of  these  immigrants,  like 
those  previously  named,  originated  in  the  prov- 
inces of  Picardy,  Normandy,  and  Bretagne. 

The  spring  of  the  year  1657  witnessed  the  ar- 
rival of  a  band  of  colonists  from  the  valleys  of 
Piedmont,  a  portion  of  the  persecuted  people 
known  as  Waldenses.  This  ancient  race,  hidden 
among  the  Cottian  Alps,  between  Italy  and 
France,  had  preserved,  according  to  their  own 
traditions,  the  Christian  faith  in  its  simplicity 
from  a  very  early  age.  Unnoticed  and  unmolested 
in  their  mountain  retreats  for  twelve  centuries, 
it  was  not  until  these  valleys  came  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  dukes  of  Savoy,  that  efforts  were 
made  to  convert  or  exterminate  them  as  heretics 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  Between 
the  year  1487  and  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  historians  of  the  Waldenses  count 
thirty-three  distinct  crusades  waged  against  this 
innocent  and  unresisting  people.  One  of  the 
most  dreadful  of  these  assaults  occurred  in  April, 
1655,  when  by  the  order  of  the  duke  of  Savoy 


v 


1 84 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


lii 


chap^ii.  an    army   of   fifteen   thousand  men  entered  the 
'655.     valleys,  and  commenced  a  massacre,  which  for 
AprU.     horrors  of  cruelty  is  scarcely  paralleled  in  the 
history  of  civilized  men.     The  sickening  details 
of  this  deed  of  blood,  amply  authenticated,  were 
published  throughout  Europe,  and  called  forth  in- 
diofnant  remonstrances  from  all   the  Protestant 
powers.     Cromwell  was  foremost  in  stimulating 
those  powers  to  action,  and  hastened  to  offer  the 
Waldenses  a  home  in  Ireland  ;  while  Milton,  his 
secretary  for  foreign  tongues,  wrote  upon  this  oc- 
casion his  famous  "  Sonnet  on  the  late  massacre 
in  Piedmont." 
The  The  States-General   of  Holland  united  in  the 

a  _enses  ^ff^j.^  ^^  arrest  the  course  of  persecution.     They 

HoUand.  j-^^q  offered  the  fugitive  Waldenses  a  refuge. 
Several  hundreds  came  to  the  city  of  Amster- 
dam, where  they  were  well  received  and  liberally 
provided  for.  Just  then  the  Dutch  were  con- 
sidering a  plan  for  the  occupation  and  settlement 
of  the  land  on  the  South  or  Delaware  river. 
Excellent  material  for  the  projected  colony  pre- 
sented itself  in  this  body  of  ^xiles  ;  and  it  was 
hoped  that  large  numbers  of  their  country- 
men, when  apprised  of  the  opportunity,  would 
flock  thither  as  to  an  asylum.  In  December, 
1656,  the  directors  wrote  to  Governor  Stuyves- 
ant,  informing  him  that  the  colony  would  soon, 
they  hoped,  receive  an  important  accession, 
"  since  according  to  all  appearances  many  of  the 
exiled  Waldenses  would  desire  to  go  "  to  New 
Netherland  in  the  following  spring;  and  they  in- 
structed hiim  to  take  immediate  steps  for  the  pur- 


i!      li 


THE  "  PRINCE  MAURICE." 


185 


December 
85. 


1667. 


chase  of  the  land  lying  between  the  North  river  chap.ii. 
and    the  South  river,  or  Delaware,  before  this     1656. 
could  be   done  by  any  other  nation,  with  a  view 
to  the  settlement  of  these  people,   whose  pres- 
ence would  be  an  advantage  to  both  parties.' 

The  embarkation  took  place  earlier  than  the 
time  announced  by  the  directors.  On  Christ- 
mas day,  1656,  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
colonists  sailed  for  New  Amsterdam,  in  three 
ships  sent  out  by  the  West  India  Company,  the 
Prince  Maurice,  the  Bear,  and  the  Flower  of 
Guelder.  They  were  accompanied  by  a  school- 
master, who  was  also  authorized  to  act  as  a 
"  comforter  of  the  sick,"  until  the  arrival  of  a 
minister.  "A  storm  separated  the  squadron: 
and,  after  a  long  voyage,  the  Prince  Maurice, 
with  most  of  the  emigrants  on  board,  struck  March 8. 
about  midnight  on  the  south  coast  of  Long 
Island,  near  Fire  Island  Inlet.  The  next  morn- 
ning,  the  crew  and  passengers  '^scaped  through 
the  ice  to  a  barren  shore,  '  without  weeds,  grass, 
or  timber  of  any  sort  to  make  a  fire.'  The  ship- 
wrecked emigrants  were  visited  before  long  by 

'  Naer  alle  apparentie  menichte  van  de  Verdrevene  Vau- 
doisen  (die  des  gewaerschout  sullen  werden)  hun  daerwaerts 
sullen  comen  te  begeven. — New  York  Colonial  Manuscripts, 
vol.  XII.,  fol.  45,  p.  8.  That  the  persons  thus  designated 
were  VValdenses,  and  not  Walloons,  appears  further  from  a 
subsequent  reference  in  the  same  correspondence,  vol. 
XV.,  fol.  12,  p.  3.  The  directors  wrote  to  Stuyvesant,  April 
16,  1663,  correcting  an  impression  which  he  had  received 
that  another  body  of  "  the  oppressed  inhabitants  of  Pied- 
mont "  had  made  request  to  be  brought  over  to  New  Nether- 
land.  (Dat  de  verdruckte  pimontoisen  opnieuios  aensocok 
sonde  hebben  gedaen  omme  nae  nieuo  nederlandt  te  mogen 
werden  getransporteert.) 


(1 


1 86 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


i  ji^ 


►  4  If 


!  S 


Chap,  II.  some  of  the  neighboring  Indians,  by  whom  they 
1657.  sent  a  letter  to  Stuyvesant,  imploring  help. 
Yachts  were  immediately  despatched  from  New 
Amsterdam,  and  the  director  went  in  person  to 
the  scene  of  the  disaster.  The  emigrants,  and 
most  of  the  cargo,  were  brought  in  safety  to  New 
Amsterdam,  where  the  other  vessels  had  arrived 
meanwhile."'  A  few  weeks  later,  they  proceeded 
on  their  wa)  to  the  South  river.  We  shall  not 
at  present  follow  the  history  of  this  Waldensian 
colony,  but  will  reserve  for  another  volume  the 
account  of  the  settlement  in  Delaware.  It  is  not 
unlikely  that  some  of  the  colonists  may  have  re- 
mained in  New  Amsterdam,  instead  of  re-embark- 
ing for  the  place  of  their  original  destination. 
Certain  it  is,  that  in  the  course  of  the  next  few 
_  .,  years,  a  number  of  Waldensian  families  came  over 
onstaten  from  Holland,  several  of  whom  established  them- 
selves on  Staten  Island.  Pierre  Martin,  Gerard 
Ive,  and  Juste  Grand,  arrived  in  August,  1662, 
on  the  ship  Fox ;  and  Jerome  Bovie,  Pierre 
Noue,  and  Pierre  Parmentier — all  from  "  Wals- 
lant" — arrived  in  April,  1663,  on  the  Spotted 
Cow.  The  imperfect  lists  of  emigration  that 
we  possess  afford  us  no  further  particulars  con- 
cerning this  interesting  episode  in  the  history 
of  New  Netherland.  But  it  is  believed  that 
others  of  the  first  settlers  of  Staten  Island,  be- 
sides those  that  have  been  named,  were  Wal- 
deiises."     Such,  we  conjecture,  may   have  been 

'  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  by  John  Romeyn 
Brodhead,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  631,  632. 

"  Brodhead,  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  vol.  I., 
p.  692. 


Island. 


LOUIS  THE  WALLOON. 


187 


the   origin  of  the  families  of  Martinou,  Cruch-  Chap.  n. 
eron,  Poillion,  Martiline,  Ganne'paine,  Regrenier,     1660. 
Casee,  Perrin  and   Canon  ;  all  of  whom  appear 
at  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  that  settlement. 

Among  the  Walloons  that  came  to  New  Neth- 
erland,  in  the  last  days  of  the  Dutch  occupation, 
was  Louis  du  Bois,  founder  of  the  Huguenot 
settlement  of  New  Paltz,  in  Ulster  county,  New 
York. 

Louis  was  the  son  of  Chretien  du  Bois,  an  in- 
habitant of  Wicres,  a  hamlet  in  the  district  of 
La  Barree,  near  Lille,  in  Flanders,  where  he  was 
boi.i  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  October,  in 
the  year  1627.  The  province  of  Flanders  was  at 
that  time  a  dependency  of  Spain  ;  and  when, 
twenty  years  later,  the  rights  of  conscience  were  i648, 
secured  by  the  treaty  of  Westphalia  to  the  October 
Protestants  of  Germany,  the  benefits  of  that  i*« 
treaty  did  not  extend  to  the  Spanish  dominions. 
It  was  perhaps  on  this  account,  and  in  quest  of 
religious  freedom,  that  Louis  left  his  native 
province,  in  early  manhood,  and  removed,  as 
numbers  of  his  countrymen  were  doing,  to  the 
lower  Palatinate.  This  Calvinistic  state,  which 
had  taken  the  lead  among  the  Protestant  powers 
of  Germany,  from  the  outbreak  of  the  Thirty 
Years'  War,  now  offered  a  refuge  to  the  op- 
pressed Huguenots,  and  to  the  Waldenses,  driven 
from  their  Alpine  valleys  by  the  fierce  soldiery 
of  Savoy.  Long  before  this,  indeed,  a  little  i^qi^ 
colony  of  Walloons,  flying  before  the  troops  of 
Alva,  had  come  to  settle  within  the  hospitable 
territory  of  the  Palatinate,  at  Frankenthal,  only 


!  J 


; 


I-.; 


Ml 

Hit 


i88 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


lUOI. 


1655, 

October 

10. 


li.' 


Chap,  n.  a  few  miles  from  Mannheim>  its  capital.  Mann- 
heim itself  now  became  the  home  of  many 
French  refugees,  and  among  them  we  recognize 
several  families  that  afterwards  removed  to  Amer- 
ica. Here  David  de  Marest,  Frederic  de  Vaux, 
Abraham  Hasbroucq,  Chretien  Duyou,  Mathese 
Blanchan,  Meynard  Journeay,  Thonnet  Terrin, 
Pierre  Parmentier,  Antoine  Crispel,  David  Usilie, 
Philippe  Casier,  Bourgeon  Broucard,  Simon  Le 
Febre,  Juste  Durie,  and  others,  enjoyed  for 
several  years  the  kindness  of  their  German  co- 
religionists and  the  protection  of  the  good 
Elector  Palatine.  Hither  Louis  du  Bois  came, 
and  here,  on  the  tenth  day  of  October,  1655,  he 
married  Catharine,  daughter  of  Mathese  Blan- 
chan, who,  like  himself,  was  from  French 
Flanders.  Two  sons,  Abraham  and  Isaac,  were 
born  of  this  marriage  in  Mannheim. 

The  refugees  found  much,  doubtless,  to  bind 
them  to  the  country  of  their  adoption.  They 
were  encouraged  in  the  free  exercise  of  their 
religion.  The  people  and  their  prince  were 
Calvinists,  like  themselves.  Openings  for  em- 
ployment, if  not  for  enrichment  in  trade,  were 
afforded  in  the  prosperous  city,  where,  a  century 
later,  Huguenot  merchants  and  manufacturers 
were  enabled  to  amass  large  fortunes.  How 
pleasantly  and  fondly  they  remembered  the 
goodly  Rhine-land,  in  after  days,  we  may  gather 
from  the  fact  that  the  emigrants  to  America 
named  their  home  in  the  wilderness,  not  from 
their  native  province  in  France,  but  from  the 
place    of  their   refuge   in    Germany,  calling   it 


Tha 
Palatin- 
ate. 


THE  NEW  PALATINATE. 


189 


"The  New  Palatinate."  In  spite,  however,  of  chap.n. 
all  inducements  to  remain,  Louis  du  Bois  and  1660. 
certain  of  his  fellow-refugees  determined  to  re- 
move to  the  New  World ;  influenced,  it  may  be, 
by  a  feeling  of  insecurity  in  a  country  lymg 
upon  the  border  of  France,  and  liable  to  foreign 
invasion  at  any  monunt. 

The   Dutch  ship  Gilded   Otter,  in  the  spring 
of  the  year  1660,  brought  over  several  of  these 
families.     Others  followed,  in  the  course  of  the 
same  year.     The  little  town  of  New  Amsterdam,    ^^privai 
nestled  upon  the  lower  end  of  Manhattan  island,    inS^w 

*■  ,  Amster- 

j)resented  a  curious  appearance  to  the  strangers,  dam. 
Inclosed  within  the  limits  of  Wall  street  and 
Broadway,  "  two  hundred  poorly-constructed 
houses  gave  partial  comfort  to  some  fourteen 
hundred  people.  The  fort  loomed  up  broadly 
in  front,  partially  hiding  within  it  the  governor's 
residence,  and  the  Dutch  church.  The  flag  of 
the  States-General,  and  a  wind-mill  on  the  west- 
ern bastion,  were  notable  indications  of  Holland 

11) 
e. 

Our  colonists  did  not  linger  long  in  New 
Amsterdam.  Taking  counsel  doubtless  of  their 
Walloon  countrymen,  and  obtaining  permis- 
sion from  the  governor  and  his  council,  they 
soon  decided  upon  a  place  of  settlement :  and 
by  the  end  of  the  year,  Matthew  Blanchan  and 
Anthony  Crispel,  with  their  families,  had  estab- 
lished themselves  in  Esopus  ;  where,  before  the 
following  October,  they  were  joined  by  Louis 
du  Rois  and  his  wife  and  sons. 

The  country  lying  south  of  the  Catskill  mount- 


i! 


K 


nc 


h 


190 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


XaopoB. 


"I 


1 


li 


Chap,  n.  ains,  and  north  of  the  Highlands,  on  the  west 
1660.  side  of  the  North  or  Hudson  river,  was  known 
to  the  Dutch  from  the  earliest  times  as  Esopus. 
Thither,  even  before  the  settlement  of  New 
Amsterdam,  the  Dutch  traders  v/ent  to  trafific 
with  the  friendly  Indians;  and  here,  in  1623, 
the  ship  New  Netherland,  after  landing  some 
of  her  passengers  on  Manhattan  island, 
stopped  on  her  way  up  the  river,  to  lighten  her 
cargo.  This  picturesque  region  —  now  in- 
cluded within  the  bounds  of  Ulster  county 
— lay  midway  between  the  two  rising  towns 
of  New  Amsterdam  and  Beverwyck.  Broken 
by  mountain  ranges,  the  Catrkills  in  the 
north,  and  the  Shawungunk  in  the  south ; 
watered  by  numerous  streams,  and  extensively 
improved  by  the  rude  husbandry  of  its  savage 
occupants,  the  pleasant  land  must  have  attracted 
the  longing  view  of  the  Dutch  immigrants  as 
they  sailed  up  the  Hudson  to  the  patroon's  col- 
ony at  Fort  Orange.  But  though  a  Dutch  fort 
was  built  here — at  Rondout,  now  a  part  of 
Kingston — as  early  as  the  year  16 14,  it  does  not 
appear  that  any  settlement  was  effected  before 
the  year  1652.  Thomas  Chambers,  an  English- 
man by  birth,  was  the  first  purchaser  and  pat- 
entee of  Esopus.  He  had  been  engaged  with 
several  others  in  an  attempt  to  obtain  lands  near 
the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Troy ;  but  being 
dispossessed  by  the  patroon,  whose  patent  cov- 
ered the  locality  chosen  for  their  settlement,  the 
associates  rernoved  to  this  region,  and  bought 
from  the  Indians  a  tract  of  land,  comprising  sev- 


INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS. 


191 


1658. 


enty-six  acres,  on  Esopus  creek,  where  the  city  chap.ii. 
of  Kingston  now  stands.  But  in  1655  the  Indian  1655. 
tribes  along- the  Hudson  river  joined  in  attaclcing 
the  Dutch  settlements;  and  in  the  consternation 
that  prevailed,  the  farmers  at  Esopus  fled,  leav- 
ing their  homes  and  fields  to  the  depredation  of 
the  savages.  On  the  conclusion  of  peace,  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year,  they  returned.  Neg- 
lecting, however,  to  form  a  village,  suitably 
protected  by  stockades  and  by  a  fort  or  block- 
house, as  they  were  urged  by  the  government 
to  do,  the  settlers  were  again  disturbed  in  1658, 
and  implored  the  Director  Stuyvesant  to  come 
to  their  relief.  By  his  advice  they  now  laid  out 
a  town-spot,  the  site  of  Wiltwyck,  the  future 
city  of  Kingston.  The  colonists,  sixty  or  seventy 
in  number,  went  to  work  with  a  will,  under  the 
personal  supervision  of  the  determined  gov- 
ernor ;  and  in  less  than  three  weeks,  the  place 
that  he  had  chosen  for  the  village  was  sur- 
rounded  with  palisades,  a  guard-house  was  built, 
and  the  dwellings  of  the  settlers  were  moved 
into  the  space  Inclosed.  Pleased  at  his  own 
success,  and  delighted  with  the  beautiful  land  of 
the  Esopus,  the  director  sailed  back  to  New 
Amsterdam,  "  praising  the  Lord  for  His  mercy 
on  all  concerned,"  and  cautioning  the  Indian 
chiefs  to  leave  the  white  men  alone,  inasmuch 
as  "  he  could  come  again  as  easily  as  he  went." 
Wiltwyck,  however,  did  not  long  enjoy  repose 
under  shelter  of  its  new  defenses.  Another 
outbreak  of  Indian  ferocity — stimulated  by  the 
white  man's  "  fire-water,"  and  prov^oked  by  the 


The 

EBOpOB 

war. 


>  't 

I'Hi  '4 
i''t  il 

t  .♦  'I  »r 


192 


NEW  NEIIIERLAND. 


September 
1. 


1660. 


Chap.  n.  brutality  of  some  of  the  Dutch  themselves — oc- 
1659.  curred  In  the  following  year,  when  a  band  of 
several  hundred  Indian  warriors  invested  the 
little  town  for  three  weeks.  Again  Director  Stuy- 
vesant  came  to  the  rescue.  Partly  by  force  of 
arms,  and  partly  through  the  mediation  of  other 
Indian  tribes,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  the  sav- 
ages to  terms ;  and  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  July. 

July  15.    1660,  peace  was  concluded. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  tha.  Louis  du  Bois 
and  his  companions  arrived  in  New  Amsterdam. 
The  great  "  Esopus  war,"  which,  for  many 
months  past,  had  convulsed  all  the  settlements, 
from  Long  Island  to  Fort  Orange,  with  fear,  was 
now  over.  The  prospects  of  the  little  colony 
at  Wiltwyck  were  brightening ;  and  the  beauti- 
ful region  which  Governor  Stuyvesant  had 
found  so  fruitful,  and  "capable  of  making  yet 
fifty  farms,"  was  open  to  the  new  immigraiiLs. 
Lands  in  the  rich  valleys  of  the  Rondout  and 
the  Esopus  were  to  be  had  for  the  asking. 
Provision  was  made  for  the  relicfious  instruc- 
tion  of  the  colonists.  Hermanus  Blom,  a  cler- 
gyman of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland, 
sent  over  expressly  to  minister  at  Esopus,  had 
been,  for  several  weeks,  awaiting  in  New  Am- 
sterdam the  result  of  the  negotiations  for  peace. 
These,  not  improbably,  were  the  considera- 
tions that  led  our  Walloons  to  fix  upon  Esopus 
as  their  future  home.  Early  in  the  autumn  of 
the  year  1660,  they  took  their  departure  from 
New  Amsterdam.  The  Company's  yacht,  which 
carried  Dominie  Blom  to  the  place  of  his  labors, 


Dominie 
Blom. 


WILTWYCK. 


193 


of 
om 
ich 


may  have  had  on  board  some  of  their  number.  Chap.n. 
Certain  it  is,  that  among  the  persons  admitted  1660. 
to  the  Lord's  Supper,  upon  the  occasion  of  its 
first  celebration  in  Esopus,  on  the  seventh  day 
of  December  in  that  year,  were  Matthew  Blan- 
chan,  with  Madeleine  Jorisse,  his  wife,  and 
Anthony  Crispel,  with  Maria  Blanchan,  his 
wife. 

The  spot  where,  after  many  wanderings,  our 
refugees  at  length  had  found  a  home,  was  hap- 
pily chosen.  It  lay  but  a  short  distance  from 
that  noble  river,  whose  majestic  course  and 
varied  scenery  must  have  vividly  recalled  to 
them  the  Rhine.  The  plateau  upon  which  the 
village  of  Wiltwyck  stood  was  skirted  by  Eso- 
pus creek.  From  the  banks  along  which  the 
palisades  protecting  it  had  been  constructed,  the 
settlers  overlooked  the  fertile  lands  occupied  by 
the  farms  of  the  white  men,  and  by  the  patches 
upon  which  the  Indian  women  still  raised  their 
crops  of  maize  and  beans.  The  beautiful  valley 
of  the  Wallkill  opened  toward  the  southwest. 
On  the  north,  the  wooded  slopes  of  the  Catskill 
mountains  were  visible. 

Blanchan  and  Crispel  were  soon  joined  at 
Wiltwyck  by  Louis  du  Bois,  and  shortly  after 
by  a  fourth  Walloon  family,  that  of  Rachel  de 
la  Montague,  daughter  of  Jean  de  la  Montague 
of  New  Amsterdam,  and  now  wife  of  Gysbert 
Imborch.  Meantime,  another  settlement  had  leea. 
been  commenced  in  the  Esopus  country.  The 
"New  Village,"  afterwards  known  as  Hurley, 
was  founded  about  a  mile  to  the  west  of  Wilt- 


■s  r 


194 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


village. 


!i 


'i  fl 

f 

1 

:  i       9 

^ir 

1 

(  ■ 

1      1 

' 

Chap.  II.  wyck.  Taught  by  experience,  the  settlers  took 
1662.  pains  to  protect  their  homes  against  the  attacks 
of  the  savages.  The  houses  and  barns  were 
built  within  a  fortified  inclosure,  where  fifteen 
families  formed  a  compact  community.  Blan- 
chan  and  his  two  sons-in-law  were  among  those 
who  removed  from  Wiltwyck  to  the  New  Vil- 
lage. A  summer  passed  by,  and  the  colonists  re- 
mained undisturbed.  They  were,  however,  by  no 
means  safe  from  molestation.  Stuyvesant's  se- 
verity in  sending  some  of  his  Indian  prisoners, 
at  the  close  of  the  Esopus  war,  to  the  island  of 

The  new  Cura9oa,  had  left  a  lasting  impression  of  resent- 
ment in  the  minds  of  the  savages.  The  build- 
ing of  the  "  New  Village,"  upon  land  to  which 
they  still  laid  claim,  was  an  additional  grievance. 
Underrating  either  the  courage  or  the  strength 
of  their  wild  neighbors,  the  settlers  took  no  suit- 
able precautions  against  attack,  but  on  the  con- 
trary, with  strange  infatuation,  sold  to  them 
freely  the  rum  that  took  away  their  reason 
and  intensified  their  worst  passions.  The  time 
came  for  an  uprising.  Stuyvesant  had  sent 
word  to  the  Indian  chiefs,  through  the  magis- 
trates of  Wiltwyck,  that  he  would  shortly  visit 
them,  to  make  them  presents,  and  to  renew  the 
peace  concluded  the  year  before.  The  message 
was  received  with  professions  of  friendliness. 
Two  days  after,  about  noon,  on  the  seventh  of 
June,  a  concerted  attack  was  made  by  parties  of 
Indians  upon  both  the  settlements.  The  destruc- 
tion of  the  "  New  Village"  was  complete.  Every 
dwelling  was  burned.     The  greater  number  of 


1663. 
June  6. 

Jane  7- 


ATTACK  ON  THE  SETTLEMENTS. 


195 


the  adult  inhabitants  had  gone  forth  that  day  as  chap.ii. 
usual  to  their  field  work  upon  the  outlying  ,663. 
farms,  leaving  some  of  the  women,  with  the 
little  children,  at  home.  Three  of  the  men,  who 
had  doubtless  returned  to  protect  them,  were 
killed ;  and  eight  women,  with  twenty-six  chil- 
dren, were  taken  prisoners.  Among  these  were 
the  families  of  our  Walloons  :  the  wife  and  three 
children  of  Louis  du  Bois,  the  two  children  of 
Matthew  Blanchan,  and  Anthony  Crispel's  wife 
and  child.  The  rest  of  the  people,  those  at 
work  in  the  fields,  and  those  who  could  escape 
from  the  village,  fled  to  the  neighboring  woods, 
and  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  made  their 
way  to  Wiltwyck,  or  to  the  redoubt  at  the  mouth 
of  Esopus  creek. 

Meanwhile,  the  attack  at  Wiltwyck  had  been 
less  successful.  Parties  of  Indians  had  entered 
the  village  in  the  morning,  carrying  maize  and 
beans  to  sell,  and  under  this  pretense,  had  dis- 
tributed themselves  in  the  different  houses ; 
when  suddenly  a  number  of  men  on  horseback 
came  dashing  through  the  mill-gate,  shouting, 
"  The  Indians  have  destroyed  the  New  Village  ! " 
At  once,  the  savages  already  within  the  place  be- 
gan their  work  of  havoc.  Twelve  houses  were 
burned,  and  but  for  a  timely  change  of  wind  the  Brave 
entire  settlement  would  have  been  consumed,  wiiti^ok. 
Some  of  the  Indians,  seizing  the  women  and 
children,  hastened  away  with  them  into  the  for- 
est :  whilst  others,  stationed  near  the  gates,  des- 
patched those  of  the  men  who  attempted  to 
enter  the  town.     As  at  the  New  Village,  most 


M  -'I 

^1  ■  m 


li    i.i 


196 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


Chap,  n. 
1663. 


1^ 


Conaterna- 

tion 

at 

New 

Amater- 

dam. 


of  the  inhabitants  were  away,  at  their  employ- 
ments in  the  neighboring  fields.  A  few  brave 
men,  however,  chanced  to  be  at  home.  These, 
though  without  guns  or  side  arms,  soon  rallied, 
and  resolutely  facing  the  assailants,  succeeded 
in  driving  them  out.  By  nightfall.  Dominie 
Blom  and  his  companions  were  joined  by  the 
people  from  the  farms,  and  by  straggling  fugi- 
tives from  the  New  Village.  No  time  could  be 
spent  in  lamentation  over  their  losses.  The 
palisades  surrounding  the  place  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  fire.  All  night  long  the  colonists 
toiled  to  replace  them,  or  kept  watch  along  the 
exposed  borders.  Day  dawned  upon  a  scene 
of  woe  and  desolation.  Seventy  of  the  inhabi- 
tants were  missing.  Of  these,  twenty-four  had 
been  ruthlessly  murdered ;  while  forty-five, 
women  and  children,  had  been  hurried  away  into 
captivity.  The  sight  of  the  burned  and  mu- 
tilated bodies,  lying  amid  the  ruins  of  the  dwell- 
ings and  in  the  streets,  was  scarcely  more  affect- 
ing than  the  thought  of  the  living,  in  the  hands 
of  the  merciless  savages.  Among  these  were 
Rachel  de  la  Montagne,  and  the  wife  and  child 
of  Dominie  Blom. 

The  tidings  of  this  disaster  spread  consterna- 
tion throughout  the  Dutch  settlements.  Director 
Stuyvesant,  always  energetic,  and  ready  for 
severe  measures,  was  the  more  disposed  to  act 
promptly  and  resolutely  in  the  present  case,  be- 
cause of  the  loss  incurred  by  his  trusty  council- 
or in  the  capture  of  his  daughter.  With  some 
difficulty,  a  force  was  raised  for  the  defense  of 


THE  ESOPUS  INDIANS  PURSUED. 


197 


;rna- 
ictor 
for 
act 
be- 
incil- 
;ome 
te  of 


July 
26. 


Wiltwyck,  and  for  the  rescue  of  the  prisoners  in  ch>i«.  n. 
the  hands  of  the  Esopus  Indians.  Nearly  a  1663. 
month  elapsed,  however,  before  two  sloops,  carry- 
ing supplies  to  the  destitute  inhabitants,  and  hav- 
ing on  board  a  company  of  Dutch  and  English 
soldiers,  and  of  friendly  Indian  braves,  entered 
Esopus  creek.  They  were  joined  at  Wiltwyck 
by  a  band  of  five  Mohawks,  sent  down  from 
Fort  Orange,  for  the  purpose  of  endeavoring  to 
secure  the  release  of  the  captives  through  medi- 
ation. In  the  meantime,  Rachel  de  la  Montagne 
had  made  her  escape  from  the  savages,  and  was 
ready  to  conduct  the  rescuing  party  to  the  Indian 
fort,  thirty  miles  to  the  south-west  of  Wiltwyck, 
whither  the  prisoners  had  been  conveyed.  The 
expedition  set  forth,  under  the  command  of  the 
fearless  Captain  Krygier,  on  the  twenty-sixth 
of  July,  and  on  the  next  day  reached  the  fort, 
but  found  it  deserted.  The  Indians  had  retreated 
with  their  captives  to  a  more  distant  fastness  in  the 
Shawungunk  mountains.  Krygier  pursued  them, 
but  without  success,  and  after  setting  fire  to  the 
fort,  and  destroying  large  quantit.es  of  corn 
which  they  found  stored  away  in  pits,  or  grow- 
ing in  the  fields,  the  party  returned  to  Wiltwyck 
without  the  loss  of  a  man.  Another  month 
passed  before  a  second  attempt  could  be  made. 
Information  came  through  friendly  savages  that 
the  Esopus  Indians  were  building  another  fort. 
So  soon  as  the  weather  permitted,  and  a  supply 
of  horses  could  be  obtained,  Krygier  set  forth  September 
again.  This  time,  the  enemy  was  taken  by  sur- 
prise.    A  fierce  combat  ensued ;  many  of  the 


m 


i 


AagQBt 
1. 


198 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


I 


The 
recone^ 


1 

!   !l 

1' 

i  1 
i 

[] 

H 

i 

1 

1 

■     1 

;  1 

Chap.  II.  savages  were  taken,  and  twenty-three  of  the 
1663.  captives  were  recovered,  and  brought  back  in 
triumph  to  the  settlement.  Their  absence  had 
lasted  just  three  months.  Tradition  represents 
the  pious  Walloons  as  cheering  the  tedious 
hours  of  their  bondage  with  Marot's  psalms. 
When  rescued  by  their  friends,  just  as  the 
savages  were  about  to  slaughter  them,  they  were 
entertaining  their  captors,  and  obtaining  a  mo- 
mentary reprieve,  by  singing  the  one  hundred 
and  thirty-seventh  psalm :  "  By  the  rivers  of 
Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we  wept,  when 
we  remembered  Zion.  .  .  For  there  they  that 
carried  us  away  captive  required  of  us  a  song,"' 

The  worthy  Dutch  pastor  of  Wiltwyck  gives 
a  touching  account  of  the  grief  and  anxiety  that 
reigned  in  the  desolate  homes  from  which  the 
captives  had  been  taken.  Every  evening  the 
little  congregation  gathen-d,  on  the  four  points 
of  the  fort,  under  the  blue  sky,  and  offered  up 
their  fervent  prayers. 

To  Louis   du  Bois,  whose  entire  family  were 

'  The  words  were  those  of  Marot's  version  : 

"  Estans  assis  aux  rives  aquatiques 
De  Babylon,  plorions  melancholiques, 
Nous  souvenans  du  pays  de  Sion, 
Et  au  milieu  de  I'habitation, 
Oil  de  regrets  tant  de  pleurs  espandismes, 
Aux  saules  verds  nos  harpes  nous  pendismes. 

Lors  ceux  qui  1^  captifs  nous  emmenerent, 
De  les  sonner  fort  nous  importunerent, 
Et  de  Sion  les  chansons  reciter. 
Las  !  dismes-nous,  qui  pourroit  inciter 
Nos  tristes  coeurs  h  chanter  la  louange 
De  nostre  Dieu  en  une  terre  estrange  ? " 


SECURITY  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT.        I99 

in  the  hands  of  the  savages,  this  season  of  sus- 
pense must  have  been  peculiarly  trying.  Tradi- 
tion states  that  he  was  one  of  the  foremost  mem- 
bers of  the  rescuing  party.  An  instance  of  his 
vigor  and  presence  of  mind,  given  by  Captain 
Krygier  in  his  journal  after  the  return  of  the 
expedition,  may  lead  us  to  credit  this  statement. 
"  Louis,  the  Walloon,  went  to-day  to  fetch  his 
oxen,  which  had  gone  back  of  Juriaen  West- 
phaelen's  land.  As  he  was  about  to  drive  home 
the  oxen,  three  Indians,  who  lay  in  the  bush  and 
intended  to  seize  him,  leaped  forth.  When  one 
of  these  shot  at  him  with  an  arrow,  but  only 
slightly  wounded  him,  Louis,  having  a  piece  of  a 
palisade  in  his  hand,  struck  the  Indian  on  the 
breast  with  it  so  that  he  staggered  back,  and 
Louis  escaped  through  the  kill,  and  came  thence, 
and  brought  the  news  into  the  fort." 

These  troubles  over,  the  settlement  enjoyed 
security  from  savage  molestation.  The  Esopus 
tribe,  in  the  course  of  the  contest  w^ith  the  white 
man,  was  almost  exterminated.  The  Walloons 
were  free  to  extend  their  plantations  further  into 
the  rich  lands  that  were  now  without  an  owner. 
Some  years  later,  Louis  du  Bois,  with  several 
associates,  removed  from  Wiltwyck  to  a  spot 
which  they  had  discovered  during  their  pursuit 
of  the  Indians.  Here,  in  the  beautiful  Wallkill 
valley,  they  built  their  homes,  near  the  base  of 
the  Shawungunk  mountains.  The  se. tiers  had 
not  forgotten  the  Rhine,  and  the  days  of  their 
exile  in  Mannheim,  and  they  named  their  village 
"le  nouveau  Palatinat,"  or  New  Paltz. 


Chap.  II. 

1663. 


200 


NEW  NETHERLAND. 


6. 


Chap.  II.  But  meanwhile,  New  Netherland  had  become 
1664.    an    English   possession.     On   the  sixth  day  of 

September  September,  in  the  year  1664,  articles  of  capitula- 
tion were  sij^ned,  by  commissioners  representing 
the  States-General  of  Holland  and  the  king  of 
England :  and  the  Dutch  city  and  province  re- 
ceived the  name  of  the  city  and  province  of  New 
York. 


f  I 


David  Provost,  the  founder  of  an  important  family  of 
New  Amsterdam  and  New  York,  arrived  from  Holland  as 
early  as  the  year  1639.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  de- 
scendant of  one  Guillaume  Provost,  a  Huguenot,  who  was  a 
resident  of  Paris  at  the  time  of  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew's day,  and  who  succeeded  in  escaping  to  Holland. 
(The  New  York  Geneaological  and  Biographical  Record. 
Vol.  VI.,  pp.  1-24.) 

The  family  of  De  Pevster,  originating,  it  is  believed,  in 
France,  was  likewise  driven  from  that  country,  according  to 
tradition,  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  and  took  refuge  in 
Holland.  Johannes  de  Peyster,  born  in  Haarlem  early  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  came  to  America,  and  about  the 
year  1652,  established  himself  in  New  Amsterdam,  where  he 
became  a  leading  merchant.  He  died  previous  to  the  year 
1686,  leaving  four  sons,  the  eldest  of  whom,  Colonel  Abra- 
ham de  Peyster,  took  a  distinguished  part  in  public  affairs. 
(Manual  of  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of  New  York  for 
1861.     Pp.  556-576.) 

It  is  possible  that  Rouen,  in  Normandy,  may  have  been 
the  birthplace  of  this  family.  Two  facts  would  indicate 
this,  (i.)  A  sister  of  the  refugee  who  fled  to  Holland,  "re- 
turned to  settle  at  Rouen,  where,  in  the  succeeding  cen- 
tury, she  lived  a  widow,  in  the  possession  of  an  ample 
fortune."  (Manual,  etc.,  p.  556.)  (2.)  In  a  "memoire"  of 
persons  conspicuous  in  the  town  of  Rouen,  in  1689,  for  their 
zeal  in  behalf  of  their  religion,  I  find  the  name  of  "  Le  sieur 
Depeister,  Hollandois,  depuis  longtemps  establi  a  Rouen. 
C'est  un  marchand  naturalise."  (Le  protestantisme  in  Nor- 
mandie,  par  M.  Francis  VVaddington.  P.  25.)  Perhaps  a 
descendant  of  the  refugee,  this  merchant  may  have  gone 
back,  like  the  sister  mentioned  above,  to  the  ancient  home. 


14- 


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CHAPTER  III. 

The    Antilles. 

1625-1606. 

Early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  the  archi-  chap.m. 
pelago  that  Hes  between  the  two  American  j^ 
continents  became  the  resort  of  French  com- 
merce :  and  here,  particularly  in  the  islands  of 
St.  Christopher,  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique, 
the  Protestants  of  France  found  a  comparatively 
safe  retreat  during  the  fifty  years  preceding  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  This  fact, 
singularly  enough,  has  escaped  the  attention  of 
the  writers  who  have  traced  the  wanderings  of 
the  Huguenot  exiles.'  Yet  we  shall  see  that  it 
has  had  an  important  bearing  upon  the  history 
of  their  emigration  to  North  America. 


'  The  invaluable  work  of  M.  Charles  Weiss  (Histoire  des 
R^fugi^s  Protestants  Fran^ais)  contains  no  allusion  to  this 
emigration,  nor  to  the  subsequent  deportation  of  French 
Protestants  to  the  Antilles. 

For  a  clue  to  this  episode  in  the  history  of  the  Refuge,  I 
am  indebted  to  a  casual  mention,  made  in  the  correspond- 
ence of  the  Marquis  de  Denonville,  governor  of  Canada,  16 
Nov.,  1686,  with  the  Ministry  of  the  Colonies,  of  the  ar- 
rival of  fifty  or  sixty  Huguenots  at  Manat  [New  York]  from 
the  islands  of  St.  Christopher  and  Martinique.  (Documents 
relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York. 
Vol.  IX.,  p.  309.) 


t        !l 


i::*-- 


:•»! 


I  r 

M    ^  ii 

11         ^ 


202 


THE  ANTILLES. 


'!; 


Chap. III.  French  geographers  limit  the  name  Antilles'^ 
1625.  to  the  Caribbean  Islands,  or  the  group  that 
stretches  in  a  curved  line  between  the  Greater 
Antilles  and  the  coast  of  South  America,  form- 
ing the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Caribbean  Sea. 
These  islands,  twenty-eight  in  number,  had  been 
Caribbean  Passed  by  as  insignificant,  since  their  discovery 

Islands,  by  Columbus  in  the  year  1493.  But  in  1625, 
two  navigators,  landing  on  the  same  day  upon 
opposite  sides  of  the  island  of  St.  Christopher, 
took  possession  in  the  name  of  their  respective 
sovereigns,  the  kings  of  France  and  England. 
Both  nations  had  the  same  objects  in  view. 
These  were  to  secure  safe  anchorage  and  con- 
venient victualing  stations  for  their  merchant 
ships  engaged  in  the  South  American  trade,  and 
to  strengthen  themselves  against  their  common 
enemy,  the  Spaniard.  No  time  was  lost  by  either 
commander  in  carrying  out  this  design.  A  com- 
pany was  organized  in  each  country,  under  a 
royal  grant,  with  privileges  and  powers  for  the 
occupying  and  settling  of  St.  Christopher,  as 
well  as  of  the  neighboring  islands.' 

'  Histoire  naturelle  et  morale  des  lies  Antilles  de  1'  Am^r- 
ique.  A  Roterdam,  M.  DC.  LVIIL  [By  Charles  de  Roche- 
fort]  P.  I. — De  Rochefort  consider,  that  the  islands  are 
so  named,  "  parce  qu'elles  sont  comme  une  barriere  au  de- 
vant  des  grandes  lies." 

Manuel  de  la  Navigation  dans  laMer  des  Antilles  etdans 
le  Golfedu  Mexique,  par  Ch.  Ph.  de  Kerhallet.  Paris,  1853, 
L19. 

*  Histoire  nat.  et  mor.  des  lies  Antilles,  pp.  268,  269. — 
The  History,  civil  and  commercial,  of  the  British  Colonies 
in  the  West  Indies.  By  Bryan  Edwards,  Esq. — London, 
M.  DCC.  XCin.     Vol.  I.,  p.  422. 


!l      ! 


I 


iiti , 


ST.  CHRISTOPHER. 


203 


Moant 
Misery. 


The  lesser  Antilles,  like  the  greater,  are  of  chap.  m, 
volcanic  origin,  and  present  similar  features  of  j^ 
beauty  and  grandeur,  in  their  rich  tropical  vege- 
tation, and  in  their  bold  outlines  of  bluff  and 
mountain.  St.  Christopher,  though  not  the 
largest  of  the  French  islands,  was  first  in  im- 
portance among  them,  as  the  place  of  earliest 
settlement,  and  for  a  long  time  the  seat  of  the 
colonial  government.  Its  highest  peak.  Mount 
Misery,  rises  nearly  four  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  is  visible  at  a  distance  of 
fifty  miles.  The  island  is  twenty-one  miles  long, 
with  an  average  breadth  of  five  miles  for  about 
two-thirds  of  its  length.  The  remaining  part  is 
less  than  a  mile  wide,  except  at  the  extreme 
south-east,  where  it  expands  to  a  breadth  of 
about  three  miles.  A  Huguenot  pastor  gives  a 
pleasing  description  of  the  island,  as  he  saw  it 
about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
The  interior,  he  tells  us,  is  occupied  by  a  range 
of  mountains,  intersected  with  rocky  precipices 
almost  impassable,  and  abounding  in  hot  springs. 
At  the  base  of  these  mountains,  the  land  slopes 
gently  down  to  the  coast,  here  and  there  broken 
by  spurs  or  ridges  that  stretch  out  to  the  sea. 
The  grounds  under  cultivation,  reaching  up  to 
the  steeper  acclivities,  are  for  the  most  part  dis- 
posed in  natural  terraces,  one  above  another. 
Upon  these  terraces,  the  gardens  and  fields  of 
the  plantations  are  seen,  the  pale  green  of  the 
tobacco  plant  contrasting  with  the  yellow  sugar 
cane,  and  the  dark  green  leaves  of  the  ginger 
und   the   sweet   potato.     Amid   these   terraced 


m 


204 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chap.  III. 
1658. 


Basse- 
terre. 


October 

13, 

1626. 


Febmary, 

12, 

1635. 


plantations,  the  houses  of  the  planters  appear, 
built  generally  of  wood,  and  roofed  with  red 
tiles,  and  completing  the  picture  which  to  the 
enthusiastic  Frenchman  seemed  one  of  rare 
beauty.  On  the  south-western  shore  of  the 
island,  near  the  shipping,  stood  the  pleasant  lit- 
tle town  of  Basse-terre,  the  residence  of  the 
merchants  and  other  leading  inhabitants. 

From  the  first,  these  islands  extended  a  wel- 
come to  the  Protestant  colonist.  No  religious 
qualiiication  was  imposed  upon  the  settlers.  The 
commission  given  in  1626  by  Cardinal  Richelieu 
to  the  leaders  of  the  enterprise,  required  them 
"  to  instruct  the  inhabitants  of  those  islands  in  the 
Catholic,  Apostolic,  and  Roman  Religion,  and  to 
plant  the  Christian  Faith  among  them,"  but 
omitted  any  reference  to  their  own  religious 
belief.'  Twelve  years  later,  in  renewing  the 
Company's  charter,  the  government  stipulated 
that  none  but  persons  professing  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion  should  be  sent  over  as  colon- 
ists. If  by  mistake  any  of  a  different  faith 
should  come,  they  were  to  be  sent  back  imme- 
diately upon  the  discovery  of  the  fact.^     But  the 


'  Commission  donnee  par  le  cardinal  de  Richelieu  aiix 
sieurs  d'  Enambuc  et  de  Rossey,  pour  ^tablir  une  Colonie 
dans  les  Antilles  de  1'  Am^rique.  Du  31  octobre,  1626. 
(Loix  et  Constitutions  des  Colonies  Francoises  de  1'  Am^ri- 
ipie  sous  le  Vent.  Paris.  [Without  year  of  publication. 
Approbation  dated  1784.]     Tome  L,  pp.  20-22.) 

'  Contrat  de  Rdtablissement  de  la  Compagnie  des  Isles  de 
r  Am^rique.  Du  12  Fevrier,  1635.  (Loix  et  Constitutions, 
etc.,  vol.  I.,  pp.  29-33.)  "  lis  ne  feront  passer  esdites  Isles, 
Colonies  et  Habitations,  aucun  qui  ne  soit  naturel  Fran- 


iles  de 

itions, 

Isles, 

F  tan- 


s' 

b 

C 

c 
y. 
< 


X 
h 

Q 
2 

< 


Of 


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ll 


1       ■      >   * 

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iil 


IE 

m 


EARLY  TOLERATION. 


205 


1685. 


order  remained  unobserved.     The  interests  of  chap.  in. 
trade  and  of  colonization  forbade  any  such  dis-     16^5- 
crimination.     "  At  all  times,"  complained  a  friar 
of  St.  Francis,  a  missionary  to  the  Antilles,  "  the 
governors  here  have  suffered  heretics."  ' 

The  period  of  toleration  continued  for  half  a 
century.  Meanwhile,  the  Protestants  came  to 
be  very  numerous  and  very  wealthy,  exceeding, 
indeed,  the  Roman  Catholic  population  in  in- 
fluence, if  not  in  numbers.'  They  were  not 
allowed  the  public  exercise  of  their  religion. 
But  throughout  the  French  islands,  meetings 
were  held  statedly  for  worship  in  private  houses, 
with  the  tacit  permission  of  the  governors.  Prot- 
estant pastors  administered  the  rite  of  baptism, 
and    performed    marriages    under  government 

gois  et  ne  fasse  profession  de  la  Religion  Catholique,  Apos- 
tolique,  et  Romaine  ;  et  si  quelqu'  un  d'  autre  condition  y 
passoit  par  surprise,  on  1'  en  fera  sortir  aussi-tdt  qu'il  sera 
venu  a  la  coiinoissance  de  celui  qui  commandera  dans  la 
dite  Isle." 

'  Histoire  G^ndrale  des  Antilles  habitues  par  les  Francois. 
Par  le  R.  P.  du  Tertre,  de  1'  Ordre  des  F.F.  Prescheurs  de 
la  Congregation  de  S.  Louis,  Missionnaire  Apostolique  dans 
les  Antilles.  Paris,  MDCLXVIL  Vols.  I.— IV.  "Bien  que 
suivant  les  pieuses  intentions  du  feu  Roy  Louis  XIII.  de 
triomphante  m^moire,  qui  permit  1'  Etablissement  des  Colo- 
nies Francoises  dans  1'  Am^rique,  il  n'y  deust  passer  per- 
sonne  qui  ne  fist  profession  de  la  Religion  Catholique, 
Apostolique  et  Romaine.  .  .  .  Neantmoins  les  Gouverneurs 
y  ont  souffert  de  tout  [temps]  des  Her^tiques."  Vol.  XL, 
pp.  421,  422.  "  L'  on  permet  indifferemment  d  toutessortes 
de  personnes  de  quelque  Religion  qu'elles  soient,  de  s'^tab- 
lir  dans  les  Isles  en  quality  d'  Habitans."     Vol.  III.,  p.  312. 

'  "  Dans  toutes  les  Isles  il  y  a  un  tres-grand  nombre  de  gens 
de  la  Religion  plus  puissans  en  fond  de  terre  et  en  Esclaves, 
que  les  Catholiques  Romains." — (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  G^n. 
des  Antilles,  etc  ,  Vol.  III.,  p.  312.) 


W 


Mr , 


I       ! 


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■  If 


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J* 


it 


2o6 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Cha^in.  sanction.'  On  board  the  Company's  ships,  the 
1650.  greater  number  of  which  were  commanded  by 
Huguenot  masters,  the  Reformed  service  was 
celebrated  with  all  publicity,  both  in  port  and  at 
sea.  Calvin's  prayers  were  said  in  the  forecastle, 
and  Marot's  psalms  were  sung,  the  loud  voices 
of  the  sailors  drowning  the  chant  of  the  priest, 
as  he  said  mass  in  another  part  of  the  ship,  for 
the  Roman  Catholic  portion  of  the  crew.  In 
some  of  the  French  islands,  there  were  Hugue- 
not congregations,  duly  organized,  though  with- 
out "  temples"  or  houses  of  worship.  The  gov- 
ernor and  council  of  Massachusetts  received  cer- 
tificates in  1680  from  "the  French  Protestant 
Church  at  St.  Christopher's,"  attesting  the  char- 
acter of  two  of  its  members."  These  congrega- 
tions were  supplied  with  pastors  by  the  Synod 

*  "  Ces  Messieurs  de  la  Religion  commencent  d'  exercer 
presque  leur  fausse  religion,  puis  qu'  ils  font  des  mariages 
autoriz^s  par  quelques  Gouverneurs,  qu'  ils  baptisent  leurs 
enfans  dans  leurs  maisons  ....  qu'  ils  s'  assemblent  tons 
les  Dimanches  dans  quelques  maisons  pour  y  faire  leurs 
pri^res  et  autres  exercises  ;  que  dans  les  navires  de  la  Com- 
pagnie,  ils  chantent  a  haute  voix  leurs  Pseaumes,  ce  qui  ne 
leur  est  pas  permis  dans  les  vajsseaux  du  Roy,  et  ils  estouff- 
ent  la  voix  du  Prestre  qui  dit  la  Messe,  et  interrompent  les 
pri^res  des  Catholiques." — (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  G^n.  des  An- 
tilles, etc.,  III.,  312.) 

' "  Certificates  from  the  ffrench  Protestant  Church  att  S'. 
Christopher's  on  the  behalfe  of  M^  Poncet  Stell  called  the 
Larier  and  Frances  Guichard,  two  French  Gentlemen,  that 
they  have  renounced  the  Romish  Religion  in  which  they 
were  born  and  bred,  and  have  Imbraced  the  true  faith  and 
protestant  Religion." — (Orders,  Warrants,  etc.,  XXXII., 
p.  16  ;  in  Office  of  Secretary  of  State,  Albany,  N,  Y.)  As 
these  men  had  in  1680  been  for  some  time  residents  here, 
the  date  of  the  certificates  may  have  been  earlier  by  several 
years. 


f  j^  ^  i 


f 


l 


ll»l 


CHURCHES  IN  ST.  CHRISTOPHER. 


207 


of  the  Walloon  Churches  of  Holland.'  But 
when  destitute  of  such  ministrations,  the  Hugue- 
not islander  could  readily  obtain  the  benefits  of 
religious  instruction  and  consolation,  by  visiting 
the  neighboring  islands  of  the  Dutch  and  En- 
glish." The  English  quarter  of  St.  Christo- 
pher was  well  provided  with  churches.  At  St. 
Eustatius,  the  Dutch  pastor  preached  in  French 


'  Charles  de  Rochefort,  the  presumed  author  of  the 
"  Histoire  Naturelle  et  Morale  des  lies  Antilles"  already 
cited,  was  at  the  time  of  its  publication  pastor  of  the  Wal- 
loon church  in  Rotterdam.  In  1650,  he  is  named  as  "  ci- 
devant  Ministre  dn  St.  Evangile  en  Amerique." — (Signatures 
des  Pasteurs,  etc. ;  Confession  de  Foy  des  Eglises  R^formees 
des  Pais-bas.  Leyden,  1769.)  From  various  indications 
it  would  seem  probable  that  the  author  of  the  '*  Histoire" 
had  exercised  his  ministry  in  the  islands  of  Martinique  and 
St.  Christopher. 

"  "  The  English  have  built  as  many  as  five  handsome 
churches  in  this  island  [St.  Christopher].  The  first,  which 
is  met  upon  leaving  the  French  quarter,  is  at  the  pointe  des 
Palmistes.  The  second  stands  near  the  great  bay  \la  grande 
rade),  below  the  Governor's  residence.  The  third  is  at  the 
pointe  de  Sable,  and  the  other  two  are  in  the  quarter  of 
Cayonne.  The  first  three  are  structures  of  pleasing  appear- 
ance, after  the  fashion  of  the  country  ;  the  interior  being 
adorned  with  fine  pulpits  and  chairs  of  valuable  kinds  of 
wood.  The  clergymen  who  perform  Divine  Service  were 
formerly  sent  hither  by  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
whose  vicar  was  Doctor  Fiatley,  chaplain  to  the  late  King  of 
England,  and  pastor  of  the  church  at  i\\Q  pointe  des  Palmistes. 
But  at  present  [1658]  they  receive  their  ordination  from  the 
Synods,  which  possess  the  episcopal  authority." — (De  Roche- 
fort,  Hist.  Nat.  et  Morale  des  lies  Antilles,  etc.,  p.  40.) 

Besides  these  five  churches,  there  were  three  on  the 
island  of  Nevis,  which  is  separated  from  St.  Christopher  by 
a  channel  only  two  miles  in  width. — (Ibid.  p.  29.) 

The  facilities  which  the  French  Protestant  inhabitants  of 
St.  Christopher  enjoyed  for  attending  these  English  services 
— "  d'aller  au  prdche  chez  les  Anglois" — are  noticed  in  a 
government  order  in  1686.     See  below. 


Chap^III. 
1650. 


;  a 


n 


208 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Xerohanto. 


?:       If. 


'li. 


Chap,  ni.  •'  for  the  edification  of  the  French  inhabitants," 
1650.  as  well  as  in  Flemish."  On  the  island  of  St. 
Martin,  which  was  occupied  by  both  nationalities, 
a  Walloon  minister  officiated  in  both  tongues.' 
And  on  the  island  of  Tobago,  then  belonging  to 
the  United  Provinces,  a  French  church  existed 
in  the  year  1660.3 

The  virtues  of  the  Huguenots  received,  in 
these  distant  colonies  of  France,  the  same 
recognition  as  in  the  mother  country.     "  Who- 

ftrotMtant  soever  knows  the  merchants  of  the  Pretended 
Reformed  Religion,"  writes  a  historian  of  the 
Antilles,  "knoTvs  that  commerce  has  no  better 
and  more  faithful  agents."*  A  large  proportion 
of  the  Company's  employes,  as  well  as  many  of 
the  most  prosperous  merchants  in  the  islands, 
were  Protestants.'     The  zealous  missionary  who 

'  De  Rochefort,  Hist,  des  lies  Antilles,  etc.,  p.  42. — M.  de 
Graaf,  "  at  present  pastor  of  the  church  of  Trevers,  in  the 
island  of  Walcheren,"  was  succeeded  by  M.  de  Mey,  **  a 
celebrated  preacher  of  the  church  of  Middelburg." 

' "  The  French  and  the  Dutch  have  their  particular 
churches,  i"  ^^z  quarters  of  which  they  have  jurisdiction. 
M.  des  Camps,  who  is  at  present  pastor  of  the  Dutch  church, 
was  sent  out  in  this  capacity  in  September,  1655,  by  the 
Synod  of  the  Walloon  Cliurches  of  the  United  Provinces, 
which  has  this  colony  under  its  spiritual  care." — (De  Roche- 
fort,  Hist,  des  lies  Antilles,  etc.,  p.  44.) 

'  "  F.  Chaillon,  Pasteur  de  I'Eglise  de  Tabago,"  signed 
the  Articles  of  the  Synod  of  Dort  in  1660. — (Confession  de 
Foy  des  Egl.  R^f.  des  Pais-bas.) 

*  Histoire  G6n6ra.\e  des  Antilles,  par  M.  Adrien  Dessalles. 
Paris  :  1847.     I"  five  volumes.     T.  IIL,  p.  215. 

* "  lis  sont  ^levez  aux  Charges  publiques,  tant  de  la  milice, 
que  du  n^goce  ;  ce  sont  eux  qui  commandent  les  deux  tiers 
vaisseaux  de  la  Compagnie,  et  ont  en  leurs  mains  les  meil- 
leurs  commissions  pour  la  distribution  des  marchandises." 
— (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  G6n.  des  Antilles,  etc.,  vol.  HL,  p.  312.) 


1 

1 

11 

||! 

ill 

1} 

DiH 

I 

n 

PROTESTANT  MERCHANTS. 


209 


de 


reports  these  facts,  explains  them  with  remark-  Chap.  in. 
able  ingenuity.  "  These  gentlemen  of  the  Com-  1667. 
pany,"  says  he,  "  have  no  other  end  in  view  than 
traffic  and  gain.  Hence  they  seek  for  such  only 
as  they  esteem  best  fitted  to  carry  their  enter- 
prise to  a  successful  issue.  And  since  all  our 
sea-ports  teem  with  Huguenot  captains,  pilots, 
and  merchants,  whose  souls  are  wholly  buried  in 
trade  and  navigation,  and  who  consequently  be- 
come more  skilled  in  these  matters  than  the 
Catholics,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they 
should  make  use  of  this  sort  of  people  to  fill  the 
places  at  their  disposal."  ' 

It  was  among  these  islands  of  the  French 
West  Indies  %  that  many  of  the  Huguenot  fami- 
lies that  came  at  a  later  day  to  Massachusetts, 

'  "  Comme  tous  nos  ports  de  mer  sont  rernpHs  de  Capi- 
taines,  de  Pilotes,  et  de  Marchands  huguenots  qui  ayant 
Tame  toute  ensevelie  dans  la  navigation  et  dans  le  negoce, 
s'y  rendent  plus  parfait  que  les  Catholiques  ;  ils  ne  se  faut 
pas  estonner  s'ils  se  sont  servi  des  ces  sortes  de  gens,  pour 
remplir  les  charges  et  les  commissions  qu'ils  avoient  k 
donner," — (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  Gen.  des  Antilles,  etc.,  HI.,  p. 
316.) 

"  Some  French  Protestants  went  to  the  islands  of  other 
nationalities.  A  Count  Crequi — according  to  the  tradition 
of  the  Markoe  family — left  France  with  a  number  of  fol- 
lowers, shortly  before  the  Revocation,  and  sailed  for  the 
West  Indies.  Several  of  the  vessels  that  carried  them 
were  destroyed  by  a  hurricane ;  but  two,  on  board  of 
which  were  Crequi  himself  and  his  friend  Marcou — said 
to  have  been  a  native  of  Montb^liard,  in  Franche-Comt^ 
— finally  reached  Santa  Cruz,  where,  with  their  fellow- 
passengers,  they  settled,  and  became  subjects  of  Denmark. 
They  had  large  plantations,  and  lived  as  a  distinct  com- 
munity, intermarrying  for  several  generations.  About  the 
middle  of  the  last  century,  Abraham  Marcou  came  to  Phila- 
delphia, and  established  himself  in  that  city.     He  took  a 


t 


I 


\\ 


-^\ 


2IO 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chap.  m.  New  York,  and  South  Carolina,  found  homes, 
1667.  br''ore  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
The  greater  number  of  them  resided  upon  tht; 
islands  of  St.  Christopher,  Guadeloupe  and 
Martinique.  The  Protestant  population  of 
Guadeloupe  was  at  that  time  very  considerable. 
"There  is  a  quarter  of  the  island,"  complained 
the  apostolic  missionary,  Du  Tertre,  in  1667, 
"  which  is  quite  thickly  inhabited,  but  in  which 
there  are  neither  priests  nor  churches.  This 
fact  hinders  the  Catholics  from  settling  there, 
but  the  Huguenots  establish  themselves  in  that 
part  of  the  island  all  the  more  willingly,  because 
they  find  greater  freedom  for  the  exercise  of 
their  religion." ' 

Larger  numbers  settled  on  the  island  of  St. 
Christopher.  Here,  as  early  as  the  year  1670, 
were  the  Allaires,  the  Pintards,  the  Marions,  the 
Le  Contes,  the  L'Hommedieus,  and  many  others, 
whose  names  have  become  familiar  to  American 
ears,  or  have  suffered  changes  that  make  them 
difficult  to  recognize.  Some  of  these  families 
appear  to  have  remained  in  the  French  islands 
for  more  than  a  single  generation.^     In  the  lists 

prominent  part  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  1774  formed  tlie 
first  company  of  volunteer  cavalry  organized  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. (Communicated  by  his  descendant,  William  Camac, 
M.D.,  of  Philadelphir,.) 

'  Du  Tertre,  Hist.  Gen.  des  Antilles,  u.  s. 

"  Histoire  Generale  des  Antilles,  par  M.  Adrien  Dessalles. 
Tome  n.,  pp.  417-437.  Role  G^n^ral  des  Habitants  de  Saint 
Christophe.  Extrait  des  cartons  non  dates,  de  cette  col- 
onic, conserves  aux  Archives  de  la  marine.  Although  with- 
out date,  this  list  may  be  presumed  to  be  of  the  same  period 
with  similar  lists  of  the  inhabitants  of  Martinique  — (Ibid,  vol. 


r 


AMERICAN  HUGUENOT  NAMES. 


I  I 


particularly    of    families    that    settled    at    New  chap.  in. 
Rochelle,  near  the  city  of  New   York,   mention     167 1. 
is  made  of  several  children  that  were  born  on 
the  island  of  St.  Christopher.      Here,  too,  lived 
the   first   pastor   of   New    Rochelle,    David   de 
Bonrepos. 

But  the  time  was  approaching,  when  these 
remote  islands  were  to  be  visited  by  the  storm 
that  burst  upon  the  Protestants  in  France. 
The  policy  of  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  had  now 
been  abandoned  ;  and  the  government,  bent 
upon  the  extirpation  of  the  Huguenots  at 
home,  sought  to  inflict  the  same  severities  upon 


li 


■»  I ,  I 


.J. 


i  ■  I! 


I.,  pp.  562-572),  and  Guadeloupe  (vol  II.,  pp.  438-453), 
both  of  which  bear  the  date  167 1. 

The  "role  des  habitants  de  Saint  Chri:>  le"  embraces 
some  twelve  hundred  names.  Among  them  ire  the  follow- 
ing which  re-appear  among  the  Huguc  families  in 
America  : 

Jacques  Allaire,  Jean  Baton,  Elie  Baudry,  Elie  Bonrepos, 
Francois  Bellereau,  Antoine  Bocquet,  Jean  Boyer,  Francois 
Bourdeaux,  Pierre  Bureau,  Jean  Buretel,  Isaac  Caillaud, 
Jean  and  Pierre  Campion,  Ayme  [Ami]  Canche,  Charles 
Carrelet,  Pierre  Chevalier,  Jean  David,  Francois  Deschamps, 
Louis  Desveaux,  Louis  and  Pierre  Dubois,  Daniel  Duche- 
min,  Pierre  Durand,  Christophe  Duteil,  Gabriel,  Jean, 
Michel,  Noel  and  Robert  Duval,  Jacques  and  Pierre  Le 
Tellier,  Pierre  Fleuriau,  Jean  Gaillard,  Noel  Gendron,  Antoine 
Gosselin,  Jean  Grignon,  Ren^  Guerineau,  Francois  Guichard, 
Jean  Hastier,  Antoine  Jollin,  Pierre  Jouneau,  Jean  de  La- 
font,  Louis  and  Pierre  Le  Breton,  Jean  Le  Comte,  Jean 
Le  Maistre,  Pierre  Le  Lieure,  Pierre  and  Jacques  Le  Roux, 

fosias  Le  Vilain,  Benjamin  L'Hommedieu,  Etienne  Maho 
Mahault],  Antoine  Marion,  Frangois  and  Pierre  Martin, 
Fran9ois,  Louis  and  Jean  Masse,  Thomas  Maurice,  Fran9ois 
Mesnard,  Jacques  Mesureur,  Jean  Morin,  Jean  Noel,  Pierre 
Nollo,  Jean  Nos  [Neau],  Elie  and  Gabriel  Papin,  Antoine 
Pintard,  Philippe  Poirier,  Jean  Poulain,  Francois  Ravaux, 
Pierre  and  Fran9ois  Renard,  Nicolas  Requier,  Jean  Roze, 


i  ) 


!  ;i 


;.| 


V\ 


ill' 


212 


THE  ANTILLES. 


tJ     ;,   |. 


chap^iii.  them  in  the  colonies.  Edicts  came  across  the 
1664.  water,  ordering  the  enforcement  of  the  decrees 
published  for  the  suppression  of  the  Protestant 
worship,  and  the  proscription  of  the  Protestant 
name.  In  1664,  the  religionists  were  cautioned 
not  to  exceed  the  privileges  which  had  until 
then  been  permitted  them,  and  which  they  had 
thus  far  enjoyed,  of  assembling  themselves  in 
private  houses  to  make  their  prayers ;  and  they 
were  particularly  admonished  to  avoid  being 
present  in  places  where  the  host  was  carried, 
or   other    religious    processions    were    passing, 


EHe  Rousseau,  Jean  Rulland,  Joseph  Sauvage,  Nicolas  The- 
venin,  Rene  Tongrelou. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  above  list  contains  the 
names  of  all  the  French  Protestant  families  transported 
from  the  Antilles  to  America.  Many  Huguenots  doubtless 
emigrated  from  France  to  those  islands  after  the  presumed 
date  of  this  list  (1671)  and  before  the  date  of  the  Revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (1685).  Neither  does  the  list 
contain  the  names  of  those  unfortunate  victims  of  persecution 
who,  as  we  shall  see  further  on,  were  transported  to  the 
French  West  Indies  a//er  the  Revocation.  To  the  former 
class  belong  the  names  of  Guillaume  Le  Conte,  Jacques 
Lasty,  Jean  Thauvet,  Gerard  Pouens,  Alexandre  Allaire, 
of  whose  residence  in  St.  Christopher,  previous  to  the  Rev- 
ocation, we  have  evidence  from  other  sources. 

Among  the  inhabitants  of  Guadeloupe  in  167 1,  we  recog- 
nize the  following  American  names  : 

Jean  and  Pierre  Allaire,  Thomas  Colin,  Michel  Coton- 
neau,  Elie  Coudret,  Jean  IDalle,  Delanoe,  Jean  Gombault, 
Paul  Guionneau,  Elie  Gosselin,  Jean  Hamel,  Abraham 
Hulin,  Frangois  Le  Blond,  Jean  Lespinard,  Jean  Le  Comte, 
Jamain,  Edouard  Machet,  Thomas  and  Vincent  Mahau, 
Jacques  Potel,  Daniel  Roberdeau.  Among  the  inhabitants 
of  Martinique  in  1671  were  Antoine  Bonneau,  Jean  and 
Thomas  Chevalier,  MathurinCoudray,  Etienne  Joullin,  Fran- 
cois Mass6,  Francois  Monnel,  Jean  Neuville,  Jean  le  Vilain, 
lean^  Martin,  Michel,  Nicolas  le  Roux. 


i  ■  I 


PROSCRIPTIVE  EDICTS. 


213 


unless  willing  to  show  the  usual  marks  of  re- 
spect.' Another  law  in  the  same  year  took  from 
Protestants  the  right  to  sell  their  estates  in  the 
islands."*  A  third  prohibited  them  from  engaging 
in  conversation  upon  the  mysteries  of  the  faith. ^ 
Still  another  decree  forbade  the  public  singing 
of  psalms,  upon  vessels  commanded  by  Hugue- 
not captains,  whether  at  sea  or  in  harbor.'* 

These  were  the  echoes  of  a  legislation  that  was 
being  rigidly  executed,  as  we  shall  see,  in  France: 
but  with  reference  to  the  colonies,  it  seems  to 
have  been  as  yet  ineffectual.  The  governors 
of  the  islands,  from  the  first,  had  shown  an  utter 
indifference  to  the  religious  concerns  of  the 
inhabitants.^     One  of  them,  at  least,  Levasseur, 

'  Loix  et  Constitutions  des  Colonies  Francoises  de 
rAmerique  sous  le  Vent.     Tome  I.,  p.  118, 

"  Ibid.  p.  131, 

'  Ibid. 

*  Ibid.  p.  180.  The  government  of  Louis  XIV.  had  com- 
menced the  forced  ''  conversion  "  of  the  officers  and  sea- 
men in  the  pubUc  service.  The  greater  number  of  these 
were  Protestants.  In  1680,  the  king  announced  his  inten- 
tion to  remove  by  degrees  from  the  navy  all  those  who 
should  continue  to  profess  the  Pretended  Reformed  Re- 
ligion. A  few  months  later,  it  was  ordered  that  inquiry  be 
made  whether  the  mass  was  celebrated,  and  other  exercises 
of  the  Catholic  religion  were  observed,  publicly  and  aloud, 
and  in  the  poop,  on  board  the  king's  ships,  at  the  appointed 
times  ;  whether  the  captains  in  any  way  hindered  the  per- 
formance of  these  duties  ;  and  also  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  prayers  of  those  of  the  Pretended  Reformed  Re- 
ligion were  observed,  whether  in  the  foreship  or  between 
decks  ;  and  whether  they  took  care  to  say  them  in  a  low 
voice,  and  in  such  away  as  not  lo  be  overheard. — (Bulletin 
de  la  socidt^  de  I'histoire  du  protestantisme  franyais,  tome 

II-.  PP-  33S»  33^) 

' "  II  est  vray  que  long-temps  auparavant  que  la  Com- 


Chap.  III. 
1671. 


! 


'A 


I'll 


1    s 


i  !  > 


214 


THE  ANTILLES. 


officials. 


!       i 


Chap.  III.  for  twelve  years  governor  of  the  island  of  Tor- 
167 1,  tuga,  was  himself  an  avowed  Protestant.'  The 
apostolic  missionary  Du  Tertre  complained  in 
1 67 1  that  the  governor  of  Guadeloupe  had 
raised  a  Huguenot  gentleman  to  the  most 
important  posts  in  that   island.''     The  heretics 

Protestant  Were  practicing  the  rites  of  their  religion  with 
growing  audacity.  Nothing  but  the  remon- 
strances of  the  vigilant  friars  and  priests  deterred 
the  authorities  from  permitting  the  open  and 
public  celebration  of  the  Reformed  worship  in 
the  islands. 3 

As  the  violence  of  persecution  increased  in 
France,  other  Huguenots  sought  refuge  in  the 
Antilles.  Among  these,  in  1679,  came  Elie 
Neau,    afterwards  the  heroic   confessor   of    the 

pagnie  feust  en  possession  de  ces  Isles,  il  y  avoit  des  Her- 
etiques  tolerez  par  toutes  les  lies  :  mais  en  tres-petit  nombre  ; 
lesquels  s'estant  accreus  par  la  connivance  de  quelgues  Gouv- 
erneurs,  ont  toQjours  tente,"  etc. — (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  Gen. 
des  Antilles,  etc.,  T.  III.,  p.  317.) 

'  Dessalles,  Hist.  Gen.  des  Antilles,  T.  I.,  p.  87. 

'  Le  sieur  Potel.  (Du  Tertre,  Hist.  Gen.  des  Antilles,  etc., 
T.  II.,  p.  422.) — Rochefort  mentions  Monsieur  Postel  among 
"les  principaus  Officiers,  et  les  plus  honorables  Habitans" 
of  Guadeloupe,  1658. — (Hist,  des  Antilles,  etc.,  p.  26.) 
Jacques  Potell  is  named  among  the  habitants  of  Guade- 
loupe in  167 1. — (Dessalles,  Hist.  Gen.  des  Antilles,  T.  II., 
p.  447) 

'  "  II  est  vray  que  le  zele  des  Religieux  Missionaires  a 
empesche  qu'ils  n'ayent  fait  en  public  I'exercice  de  leur  Re- 
ligion, et  ils  en  ont  port^  de  si  frequentes  plaintes  aux 
Gouverneurs,  qu'on  a  tousiours  puni  par  des  Amendes 
pecuniaires,  ceux  qui  se  sont  assemblez  pour  en  faire  les 
fonctions,  de  sorte  que  jusqu'^  present  il  ne  s'est  fait  dans 
les  lies  aucun  exercice  public,  que  de  la  Religion  Catholique, 
Apostolique  et  Romaine." — (Du  Tertre,  Hist,  Gen  des  An- 
tilles, etc.,  T.  II.,  p.  422.) 


.J-...'__..,! .','M'^« 


If—.*.; 

i 


4 


ELIE  NEAU  IN  THE  WEST  INDIES.       215 

faith  in  the  French  galleys,  and  the  devoted  chap.  iil 
teacher  of  negro  slaves  in  New  York.  Bred  to  a  1679. 
sea-faring  life,  Neau  had  left  his  home  in  the  prin- 
cipality of  Soubise,  in  Saintonge,  at  the  age  of 
eighteen,  apprehending  the  troubles  that  began  in 
that  province  under  the  administration  of  Maril- 
lac  and  Demuin.  He  spent  several  years  in  the 
Dutch  and  French  islands  of  the  West  Indies, 
and  would  have  settled  in  one  of  the  latter,  but 
for  the  prospect  that  the  freedom  of  conscience 
enjoyed  by  the  colonists  would  soon  be  invaded. 
Neau,  at  a  later  stage  of  his  life,  dated  the  com- 
mencement of  his  own  profound  experience  of 
the  power  of  religion,  from  the  period  of  his 
sojourn  among  the  French  islands.  Alluding  to 
a  severe  affliction  that  befell  him  about  this 
time,  he  says  :  "  It  was  there  that  God  began  to 
speak  to  my  heart,  and  granted  me  His  love. 
My  ignorance,  however,  made  me  to  be  like  the 
blind  man,  who  saw  men  as  trees  walking,  the  first 
time  that  the  Lord  touched  his  eyes.  For  I  did 
indeed  love  God:  but  I  did  not  know  Him  well 
enough  to  be  constrained  to  live  only  for  Him." ' 
Instances  of  interference  with  the  rights  of 
conscience  had  indeed  occurred  in  the  French 
islands,  before  the  catastrophe  of  the  Revoca- 
tion. In  1664,  a  school-book  containing  verses 
deemed  to  be  contrary  to  the  Roman  religion 
and  the  mass,  having  been  found  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  child  of  tender  years,  he  was  sentenced 

'  Histoire  abbreg^e  des  Soiiffrances  dn  sieur  Elie  Neau,  siir 
les  galeres,  et  dans  les  Cachots  de  Marseille. — A  Rotterdam, 
chez  Abralam  Acher.  M.DCC.I.  P.  99. 


Jnne  16, 
1664. 


i! 


!ii 


if! 


'1 


Ml 


1  i  n 


If      I 


'  u 

P  m 


11- 

..'.1: 


I 


™T 

t 

;|^^    ■ 

i 

L 

J3    li&Hl(.  .iiA.VWM 

BflR«H 

; 

.1  k, 


2l6 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Occa- 
sional 
severities 


Chap. III.  to  be  beaten  at  the  church  door  by  his  father; 
1O64.  the  parents  were  subjected  to  a  heavy  fine,  and 
the  schoolmaster  was  held  for  trial.'  About  the 
same  time,  it  was  decreed  that  persons  who 
should  speak  in  public  against  the  doctrines  and 
ceremonies  of  the  Roman  Religion,  should  be 
punished  by  having  the  lips  slit,  and  the  tongue 
pierced  by  a  hot  iron,  and  by  perpetual  banish- 
ment from  the  islands.'  In  the  year  1678,  the 
Council  of  Martinique,  rendering  judgment 
against  Jean  Boutilier,  merchant,  prohibited  all 
persons  of  "the  Religion  "  from  assembling  in 
any  wise  for  the  purpose  of  saying  their  prayers, 
whether  aloud  or  in  a  low  voice.^  But  the 
reluctance  of  the  colonial  government  to  proceed 
to  such  extremities,  appears  from  the  increasing 
strictness  of  the  orders  sent  from  France  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  royal  decrees.  In  1683, 
the  Council  of  Martinique  registered  the  follow- 
ing order  from  the  king  :  "  As  for  the  pretended 
Reformed,  you  shall  not  suffer  them  to  practice 
any  public  exercise  of  their  religion,  nor  permit 
any  of  them  to  be  employed  in  the  [public] 
charges.  You  shall  not  even  allow  any  inhab- 
itant of  that  religion  to  settle  in  the  islands,  with 
the  purpose  of  acquiring  lands,  unless  by  express 
order.  Concerning  those  who  may  frequent  the 
islands  for  the   purposes  of  trade,  they  may  be 

'  Loix  et  Constitutions  des Colonies  Francoises  del'Amer- 
ique  sous  le  Vent.     Paris.     [1784.]     Tome  L,  Page  116. 
"  Ibid.  P.  117. 
'  Histoire  Gen^rale  des  Antilles,  par  M.  Adrien  Dessalles. 

T.  in.  p.  213. 


METHODS  OF  INTIMIDATION. 


21 


tolerated,  but  without  any  exercise  whatsoever  chap.  m. 
of  their  rehgion."  '  i^g"^ 

Another  chapter  of  Huguenot  history  in  the 
Antilles — and  a  sadder  one — begins  with  the 
Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  The  vol- 
untary emigration  of  French  Protestants  to 
these  colonies,  and  their  quiet  establishment 
among  them,  during  a  time  of  comparative  free- 
dom from  persecution,  was  now  followed,  in 
1686,  and  the  two  succeeding  years,  by  the  com- 
pulsory transportation  of  persons  sentenced  to 
penal  servitude,  on  account  of  their  religion. 

This  method  of  intimidation,  and  of  punish- 
ment, was  employed  for  a  while  with  great  effect 
by  the  government  of  Louis  XIV.  It  was  a 
refinement  upon  the  dragonnades,  and  other 
measures  for  the  enforced  conversion  of  his 
Majesty's  Reformed  subjects.  No  other  fate 
was  so  dreaded.  Even  the  galley-slave  viewed 
the  sentence  of  transportation  to  the  islands  of 
America,  as  a  doom  far  more  terrible  than  his 
own.  The  populations,  especially,  of  the  inland 
provinces  of  France,  were  made  to  believe  that 
the  condition  of  persons  sent  to  the  FVench 
islands  would  be  one  of  utter  misery  and  degra- 
dation. They  were  to  be  held  as  slaves,  and 
subjected  by  the  planters  to  the  same  treatment 
with  their  negroes  and  their  cattle.  America 
was  pictured  to  them  as  a  country  where  they 
would  be  not  only  friendless,  but  reduced  to  a 
hopeless  and  cruel  captivity. 

'Ibid.,  III.,  214. 


I A 


ill 


i'    ; 


M\ 


;  i   H 


'.   f  ; 


!  !'  li" 


l:H 


t    I 


2l8 


THE  ANTILLES. 


(    ii 


Chap.  III.  These  apprehensions  were  far  from  ground- 
1686,  l^ss.  A  system  of  peonage,  attended  with  many 
of  the  worst  features  of  slavery,  prevailed  in  the 
French  islands.  Introduced  by  the  "boucan- 
iers,"  or  sea-rovers,  who  infested  the  Antilles  at 
an  early  day,  it  had  been  adopted  by  their  suc- 
Xhe      cessors,  the  planters.     The    ''engages"    as  they 

'  engrage*'"  were  called,  were  generally  Frenchmen,  who  had 
sold  themselves  to  serve  for  three  years  in  the 
colonies.  They  were  employed  in  severe  field 
labors,  under  the  burning  sun  of  the  tropics  : 
and  they  were  wholly  at  the  mercy  of  masters 
often  inhuman,  and  always  irresponsible.  It  was 
said  that  one  of  these  masters  boasted  openly 
that  he  had  killed  three  hundred  "  engages " 
with  his  own  hand.'  Stories  like  the  following, 
which  had  come  down  from  the  times  of  the 
buccaneers,  were  doubtless  known  in  France, 
and  were  heard  with  horror  by  the  Sabbath- 
keeping  Huguenot : — An  "  engage,"  not  improb- 
ably a  Protestant,  whose  master  was  accus- 
tomed to  send  him  every  Sunday  to  the  sea- 
shore, to  carry  the  skins  of  cattle  that  had 
been  slaughtered  during  the  w^eek,  ventured 
to  remind  him  of  the  divine  command  :  Six 
days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work  :  but 
the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work.  "  And 
I,"  answered  the  fierce  freebooter,  "  I  tell  thee, 
Six  days  shalt  thou  slaughter  bullocks,  and  skin 

'  Histoire  des  Aventuriers  qui  se  sont  signales  dans  les 
mers  des  Indes.  Par  Alex.  Oexmelin,  Paris  :  1713. — Quoted 
in  Routier  des  lies  Antilles.    Paris  :    1824.    P.  20. 


TRANSPORTATION  DREADED. 


219 


tliem ;   and    the   seventh    day    thou  shalt  carry  chap.  iii. 
their  hides  to  the  sea-shore  "  :  and,  as  Raynal     1686. 
says,   the  command  was    enforced   with    blows, 
compelling  the  violation  of  the  law  of  heaven.' 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed,  however,  that  the 
French  government  seriously  contemplated,  at 
any  time,  the  transportation  of  large  numbers  of 
the  Huguenots,  to  serve  as  slaves  in  the  colonies. 
It  was  undoubtedly  for  the  purpose  chiefly  of 
intimidation  hat  the  measure  was  announced. 
All  conceivable  pains  were  taken  to  intensify  the 
impression  of  horror  which  that  announcement 
produced.  Those  who  had  withstood  every 
other  effort  to  shake  their  firmness,  were  now 
driven  by  hundreds  to  the  sea-ports.  The  mis- 
eries of  the  journey  were  aggravated  in  every 
possible  way.  Parents  and  children,  husbands 
and  wives,  neighbors  and  friends,  were  carefully 
separated  from  one  another.  Companies  of 
soldiers  escorted  the  wretched  travelers,  not   so 


U' 


iif 


i.ij 


',  I. 


iff 


J  t 


{ 


'  Un  de  ces  malheureux,  [les  engages,]  b.  qui  son  avilisse- 
ment  avait  laisse  assez  de  religion  pour  qu'il  se  res- 
souvint,  que  le  dimanche  est  un  jour  de  repos,  osa  repre- 
senter  h  son  maitre,  qui  chaque  semaine  choisissait  ce  jour 
pour  se  mettre  en  route,  que  Dieu  avait  proscrit  un  tel 
usage,  quand  il  avait  dit  :  Tu  travailleras  six  jours,  et  le 
septilme  tu  te  reposeras  :  Et  mot,  reprit  le  f^roce  boucanier, 
I't  iiioi  je  dis  !  six  jours  tu  tueras  des  taureaux  pour  les  ecor- 
cher,  et  le  septihne  tu  en  porter  as  les  peaux  au  bord  de  la  mer: 
L*t  ce  commandement  fut  accompagn^  de  coups  de  batons 
(pii,  dit  I'abbe  Raynal,  [Histoire  philosophique  et  politique 
des  etablissements  et  du  commerce  des  Europeens  dans  les 
deux  Indes,  t.  V.  p.  213,]  tantot  font  observer,  et  tantot 
font  violer  les  commandements  de  Dieu. — Histoire  poli- 
tique et  statistique  de  1'  He  d'Hayti,  Saint  Domingue.  Paris  : 
1826.     P.  61. 


n 


220 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chapjii.  much  to  prevent  their  escape,  as  to  degrade 
1686.  them,  by  giving  to  the  procession  the  aspect  of 
a  gang  of  criminals.  Some  were  carried  in 
carts,  bound  in  such  a  manner  as  to  increase 
their  discomfort  at  every  motion  :  while  others 
walked,  tied  two  by  two,  like  convicts  on  their 
way  to  prison.  Most  of  them  were  conducted 
to  the  sea-port  of  Marseilles:  Many  sickened 
and  died  on  the  way.  Others  perished  in  the 
famous  Tour  de  Constance,  while  waiting  for  the 
vessels  that  were  to  transport  them  to  the  islands. 
But  many  thousands,  after  resisting  every  effort 
to  overcome  their  faithfulness,  and  bearing  the 
hardships  of  this  shameful  journey,  yielded  in 
the  end.  At  the  sight  of  the  ships,  that  were  to 
carry  them  far  from  their  native  land  into 
slavery,  their  hearts  failed  them.'  Those  who 
persevered,  were  the  wonder  and  admiration  of 
their  brethren.  To  them,  this  kind  of  persecu- 
tion was,  as  one  expressed  it,  "  a  terrible  tempt- 
ation. So  long  as  one  is  in  the  kingdom,  one 
flatters  one's  self,  one  hopes,  one  receives  a  little 
comfort  from  one's  friends  and  relations.  The 
Church,  whose  eyes  are  upon  us,  the  edification  of 
our  brethren,  and  all  things  conduce  to  animate 
and  encourage  us  to  the  conflict.  But  to  see 
one's  self  deprived  of  all  those  powerful  motives 
at  once — to  go  into  a  new  world,  there  to  be 
buried  as  it  were,  separated  from  the  rest  of 
mankind,  in  a  state  worse  than  that  of  a  slave, 

'  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes  [par  Elie  Benoist].  A 
Delft,  cliez  Adrien  Beman,  MDCXCV.  Tome  troisieme, 
seconde  partie.     Pp.  973-975. 


NUMBERS  ACTUALLY  SKIPPED. 


221 


abandoned  to  the  discretion  of  a  man  who  goes  chap.  iii. 
to  the   end  of  the  world  in  quest  of  riches,  and     1686- 
who,  without  any  rei^ard  to  humanity,  treats  his     jggg 
slaves    in    proportion    to   their   labor,    and    the 
profit  which    he   reaps  thereby — good  God  ! — 
what  an  Egypt  is  this,  to  those  faithful  martyrs 
who  are  transported  thither  !  "  ' 

The  numbers  actually  shipped  for  the  French 
islands  were  considerable.''  Between  the  month 
of  September,  1686,  and  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1688,  as  many  as  ten  vessels  sailed  from 
Marseilles,  most  of  them  bound  for  Martinique, 
and  carrying  over  one  thousand  Huguenots, 
men  and  women. ^     Our  accounts  of  this  forced 


?- 


i  i 


if 

'  i 


.1' 


'  A  Specimen  of  Papal  and  French  Persecution.  As  also, 
Of  the  Faith  and  Patience  of  x\\q\^\.q  French  Confessors  and 
Martyrs.  Exhibited  in  the  Cruel  Sufferings,  and  most 
Exemplary  Behaviour  of  that  Eminent  Confessor  and  Martyr, 
Mr.  Lewis  de  Marolles. — Done  newly  out  of  French. — London. 
Printed  by  S.  Holt,  1712.     Pp.  69,  70. 

"  Benoist,  whose  work  appeared  in  1693  and  1695,  speaks 
of  "  plusieurs  centaines  de  personnes  ;  "  but  from  informa- 
tion that  has  been  published  in  our  own  day,  and  that  fully 
confirms  the  accounts  given  by  the  author  of  the  History  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes,  it  would  seem  that  the  number  must 
have  exceeded  his  estimate. 

'  A  decree  of  the  Council  of  State,  Sept.  24,  1688,  exempt- 
ing religionists  and  new  converts  sent  to  the  islands  from 
the  payment  of  a  poll-tax  for  one  year,  alludes  to  them  as 
having  been  thus  transported  "  since  the  month  of  January 
of  last  year." — (Loix  et  Constitutions,  etc.,  L,  474.)  The 
first  arrivals,  then,  occurred  in  January,  1687,  and  the  ship 
that  brought  the  first  detachment  may  have  been  the  one  re- 
ferred to  by  Louis  de  Marolles,  who  writes  in  September, 
1686:  "  It  is  designed  next  week  to  embark  150  invalid 
galley  slaves  for  America."  (P.  69).  De  Marolles  men- 
tions a  second  ship  as  about  to  sail,  in  January,  1687, 
(P.  92.)     This  vessel  may  have  carried  about  the  same  num- 


i 


1! 

i 

i 

i 

j 

',    i 


222 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chap.  Ill,  emigration,  however,  are  in  complete.  It  is  prob- 
1686-  able  that  the  whole  number  was  much  greater. 
1688.  There  were  some  of  these  unfortunates,  whose 
courage  gave  out  just  at  the  last.  On  the  eve 
of  their  embarkation,  overcome  with  fear,  they 
recanted.  This  weakness  did  not  save  them 
from  an  irrevocable  fate.  The  "  new  converts," 
as  they  were  called,  were  shipped  with  the  rest, 
and  fared  no  better  than  their  more  resolute 
brethren. 

The  miserable  fate  of  these  exiles  awakened 
Sympathy  ^  profound  sympathy  among  the  Protestants 
awakened  throughout  France,  and  in  all  Europe.     To  the 


in 


Europe,  refugees  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  and  Great 
Britain,  the  name  America — destined  to  be  the 
synonym  of  freedom — meant  slavery  ;  a  lot 
infinitely  more  pitiable  than  their  own.  This 
sympathy  found  expression  in  many  touching 
ways.  The  French  pastors  gathered  in  the  city 
of  Zurich  testified  their  compassion  "  for  those 
who  are  now  weeping  under  the  iron  yoke  of  the 

ber  of  passengers.  The  ship  Notre  Dame  de  bonne  espe- 
rance,  with  another  vessel,  left  Marseilles  March  12,  1687, 
the  two  having  on  board  two  hundred  and  twenty-four 
persons.  (Benoist,  V.,  976. — Bulletin  de  la  society  de  1'  his- 
toire  du  protestantisme  frangais,  XII.,  74-79.)  Two  ships 
that  left  Marseilles  a  little  later,  carried  one  hundred  and 
sixty  persons.  (Bulletin,  u.  s.)  On  the  i8th  of  September, 
1687,  the  pink  £a  Marie,  with  seventy-nine,  and  the  ship 
La  Concorde^  with  ninety  passengers,  sailed  from  the  same 
port.  (Memoires  de  Samuel  de  Pechels.  Toulouse  :  1878, 
p.  50.)  Two  vessels  that  reached  the  islands  in  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1688,  had  on  board  one  hundred  and  eighty 
persons.  (Bulletin,  u.  .y.)  Thus  the  transportations  of 
which  we  have  positive  knowledge  amount  to  at  least  a 
thousand. 


I 


A  TRANSPORT-SHIP  AT  CADIZ. 


223 


heathen  in  Africa,  and  those  who  in  America  chap.  iii. 
groan  under  the  rod  of  wickedness."'  Jean  1686- 
Olry,  of  Metz,  sentenced  with  ten  others  to  j^gg 
transportation  for  their  reHgious  faith,  relates 
that  on  reaching  the  city  of  La  Rochelle,  where 
they  were  to  embark  for  the  West  Indies,  the 
prisoners  found  on  board  the  vessel  three  ladies, 
who  had  been  awaiting  their  arrival  for  several 
days,  to  offer  them,  in  behalf  of  their  brethren 
in  that  city,  gifts  of  money  and  clothing,  and  of 
provisions,  including  wine  and  other  delicacies, 
for  their  comfort  on  the  voyage.^  One  of  the 
ships  that  left  Marseilles  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  1687,  carrying  a  large  company  of  banished 
Huguenots,  was  forced  by  stress  of  weather  to 
anchor  in  the  port  of  Cadiz.  The  governor  of 
that  city  had  the  curiosity  to  visit  them,  and  was 
so  touched  by  the  condition  of  the  women,  that 
he  sent  them  a  present  of  fruit.  Among  other 
persons  attracted  by  this  strange  arrival,  was  a 
French  officer  who  chanced  to  be  in  the  harbor. 
On  the  deck  of  the  ship,  he  saw  several  young 
women,  whose  faces  wore  a  deathlike  pallor.  I 
inquired  of  them,  he  says,  how  it  happened  that 
they  were  going  to  America.  They  replied  in 
tones  of  heroic  firmness.  Because  we  will  not 
worship  the  beast,  nor  fall  down  before  images. 
This,  they  added,  is  our  crime.  The  officer 
went  below,  and  found  in  the  ship's  cabin  eighty 
women  and  girls,  lying  upon   mattresses,  in  the 

'  Bulletin  de  la  soc.  de  1'  hist,  du  prot.  frang.,  VII.,  57. 
'Ibid.,  VI., 309. 


'    '■ 

m' 

fi- 

ij 


■1-' 


it  Jl 


II  Pf 


!  ■; 


-1    ) 


224 


THE  ANTILLES. 


! 


:i 


Chaplin,  most  pitiable  condition.  My  lips  were  closed, 
1686-  he  writes  ;  I  had  not  a  word  of  comfort  to  speak 
1688.  to  thorn.  But  instead  of  my  consoling  them,  it 
was  they  who  consoled  me,  in  language  the 
most  affecting  ;  and  as  I  continued  speechless, 
they  said,  We  entreat  you  to  remember  us  in 
your  prayers.  Ask  that  God  would  give  us 
grace  co  t  -^vere  to  the  end,  that  we  may  have 
part  in  th  lown  of  life.  As  for  us,  we  lay  our 
hand?  upon  our  mouths,  and  we  say  that  all 
things  come  from  Him  who  is  the  King  of 
kings.     It  is  in  Him  that  we  put  our  trust.' 

Two  ships  that  sailed  from  Marseilles  in  Sep- 
tember, 1687,  only  reached  St.  Domingo  in 
February  of  the  following  year.  The  Concorde 
carried  ninety  Protestant  captives  ;  the  Marie, 
seventy-nine.  Of  these  prisoners,  the  greater 
number  were  from  lower  Languedoc  and  the 
Cevennes.  Their  sufferings  during  the  long 
voyage  ive    months    were  extremely  great. 

The  ves-  were  small  and  overcrowded,  and 
the  supply  of  food  and  water  was  insufficient. 
On  the  Marie,  fifty-nine  persons  were  huddled 
together  in  a  compartment  not  large  enough  to 
accommodate  twenty.  In  an  adjoining  cabin, 
seventy  worn-out  galley-slaves,  on  their  way  to 
the  islands  to  be  sold  to  the  planters,  were  'on- 
fined,  heavily  chained,  in  a  space  equally  con- 
tracted. Both  classes  of  prisoners  were  devoured 
with    vermin.     Shut   up,   much  of  the  time,  in 


'Bulletin  de  la  soc.  de  1'  hist,  du  prot^  fran^.,  XL,  156. 
Comp.  Benoist,  Hist,  de  1'  Edit  de  Nantes,  V.,  976. 


HORRORS  OF  THE  PASSAGE. 


225 


eak 
1,  it 
the 
less, 
s  in 
i    us 
have 
I  our 
It  all 
ig  of 

Sep- 


1687. 


these  wretched  quarters,  where  the  unfortunate  Chap.iii. 
occupant  could  neither  stand  erect,  nor  stretch  1686- 
himself  on  the  floor,  without  incommoding  im- 
other,  the  stifling  heat,  the  consuming  thirst,  the 
pangs  of  hunger,  to  which  the  sufferers  were  ex- 
posed, were  aggravated  by  the  cruelty  of  their 
keepers.  As  often  as  they  happened  to  see  us 
engaged  in  prayer,  or  in  singing  psalms — writes 
one  of  the  passengers — they  would  fall  upon  us 
with  blows,  or  deluge  us  with  sea-water.  Their 
constant  talk  was  of  the  miseries  that  awaited 
us  in  America.  They  told  us  that,  when  we 
should  reach  the  islands,  the  men  would  be  hung, 
and  the  women  would  be  given  up  to  the  savages, 
should  they  refuse  to  attend  mass.  But  far 
from  being  terrified  by  these  threats,  to  which 
we  had  now  become  accustomed,  many  of  us 
felt  a  secret  joy  at  the  thought  that  it  had 
pleased  God  to  call  us  to  suffer  even  unto  death 
for  His  holy  name.  Our  resolution  was  unshaken 
by  the  abuse  we  experienced  every  day.  As  for 
myself,  all  this  seemed  to  me  as  nothing,  and  as 
not  worthy  to  be  compared  to  the  glory  that 
should  follow.  Blessed  are  they  which  suffer  for 
righteousness'  sake,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven.' 

In  this  forced  emigration,  not  a  few  perished 
at  sea,  through  sickness,  exposure,  privation, 
or  by  shipwreck.  From  the  accounts  that  have 
come  down   to  us,  it  appears  that  at  least  one- 


.,ii   :  \ 


*  ■'♦■ 


'  Metnoires  de  Samuel  de  Pechels.    Publics  par  Raoul  de 
Cazenove.     Toulouse :  1878.     Pp.  50-56. 


:$  :| 


226 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chap.  III.  fourth  of  the  number  embarked,  died  during  the 
1686-  voyage.  The  Espdrance,  which  left  Marseilles 
1688.  ^'^  ^^  twelfth  of  March,  1687,  with  a  company 
of  seventy  men  and  thirty  women,  was  wrecked, 
on  the  nineteenth  of  May,  upon  the  rocks  near 
the  island  of  Martinique.  Thirty-seven  of  the 
number  perished.  The  survivors  were  hospita- 
bly received  by  the  Caribs,  who  met  them  upon 
the  shore,  lighted  fires  to  warm  them,  and 
brought  them  supplies  of  cassava,  the  native 
substitute  for  bread.  Among  the  French,  they 
were  treated  with  similar  kindness.  Guiraud,  of 
Nismes,after  spending  five  months  on  that  island, 
escaped  to  the  English  quarter  of  St.  Chris- 
topher, where  he  found  a  home  with  a  French 
planter,  a  naturalized  subject  of  England,  who 
treated  him  as  his  own  son.' 

Martinique,  the  principal  destination  of  the 
transport-ships,  was  at  this  time  one  of  the  most 
populous  and  important  of  the  French  Antilles. 
As  the  Huguenots  approached  it,  their  impres- 
sions of  gloom  and  dread  must  have  been 
deepened  by  the  aspect  of  the  lofty  island. 
Its  broken  outline,  bearing  with  remarkable 
distinctness  the  marks  of  an  igneous  origin, 
can  be  descried  far  out  at  sea.  The  interior  of 
the  island  is  a  mass  of  precipitous  rock,  from 
which  one  peak,  Mount  Pelee,  rises  to  a  height 
of  four  thousand  five  hundred  feet.  Here  and 
there  may  be  seen    the  craters  of  extinct   vol- 


'  Bulletin  de  la  soc.  de  I'hist.  du  prot.  fran?.,  XIL,  pp. 
74-79- 


f     I 


''  -! 


MARTINIQUE. 


227 


gthe 

ieilles 

ipany 

;cked, 

i  near 

Df  the 

Dspita- 

upon 
1,  and 
native 
n,  they 
aud,  of 
island, 

Chris- 
French 
id,  who 

of  the 
le  most 
\ntilles. 
impres- 
been 

island. 
1  ark  able 

origin, 
erior  of 
:k,  from 
I  height 

ere  and 

net  vol- 

XII.,  pp. 


Les 
mornes. 


canoes.  From  the  almost  inaccessible  center  of  Chap,  in. 
the  island,  long  ridges  of  lava  extend  to  the  1687. 
shores,  where  they  form  deep  indentations  along 
the  coast.  Between  these  ridges  lie  broad, 
irregular  valleys  of  great  fertility,  "watered  by 
numerous  streams  from  the  surrounding  heights. 
Amid  these  valleys,  the  rich  vegetation  of  which 
contrasted  singularly  with  the  grandeur  of  the 
mountains,  clothed  with  primeval  forests,  or 
rugged  and  sterile,  the  Huguenots  noticed  with 
special  interest  the  mornes,  or  rounded  hillocks, 
rising  upon  the  lowland.  Many  of  them  were 
crowned  with  the  dwellings  of  planters,  who  chose 
these  elevated  sites  partly  for  health  and  partly 
also  for  safety,  in  view  of  the  frequent  inundations 
caused  by  the  swelling  of  the  mountain  torrents. 
Religious  persecution  had  already  commenced 
in  the  islands,  before  the  arrival  of  the  banished 
Huguenots.  A  few  months  after  the  Revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  orders  came  to 
Count  de  Blenac,  the  governor-general,  direct- 
ing him  to  take  measures  without  delay  for  the 
extirpation  of  heresy  in  the  islands.  The  king 
hoped  that  his  colonial  subjects  would  readily 
follow  the  example  of  so  many  of  their  brethren 
in  France,  and  renounce  their  errors.  Should 
any  prove  stubborn,  however,  they  were  to  be 
dealt  with  accordingly.  The  obstinate  might  be 
punished  by  imprisonment,  or  by  the  quartering 
of  soldiers  in  their  houses.  An  exception  was 
made  for  the  present  in  the  case  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  St.  Christopher  :  inasmuch  as  the  work 
of  uprooting   heresy   would   be   attended  with 


'! 


\\^' 


■'),'  I 


228 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chap.  Ill,  greater  difficulty  there  than  in  the  otheV  islands, 
1687.  because  of  the  facilities  that  the  religionists 
enjoyed  to  attend  heretical  worship  in  the 
English  part  of  the  island,  or  to  escape  to  the 
English  altogether.  Lenient  measures  might 
there  be  tried,  before  a  harsher  course  should  be 
adopted.  The  king,  however,  would  give  all  to 
understand,  that  he  was  resolved  in  no  wise  to 
permit  the  Protestants  on  the  islands  to  remove 
from  them,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
themselves  elsewhere.' 
y  These  orders  were  followed  by  others,  hav- 
ing reference  to  the  companies  of  Huguenots 
sentenced  to  be  transported  to  the  colonies. 
Immediately  upon  their  arrival,  they  were  to  be 
distributed  among  the  different  islands,  and 
placed  at  service  with  the  planters.  No  dis- 
crimination was  made  in  favor  of  the  "  nou- 
veaux  convertis,"  who  had  hoped  to  procure  a 
mitigation  of  their  sentence  by  abjuring  their 
faith.  These  were  to  be  carefully  watched,  and 
compelled  to  perform  their  duties  as  Catholics  : 
but  they  were  sent  off  with  the  rest.' 

The  islands  of  Guadeloupe,  St.    Martin,  St. 
ge     Eustatius,    and    St.    Domingo,    received    num- 
^'  bers  of   these  captives.     In    their  new  homes, 
many  died    soon    of    grief  and   of   exhaustion. 
Of    those   that   survived,    the   greater   number 
appear  to   have    fallen    into   the   hands  of  hu- 

'  Histoire  G^n^rale  des  Antilles,  par  M.  Adrien  Dessalles. 
Paris.     1847.     Tome  IL,  p.  63. 

"  Histoire  G^n^rale  des  Antilles,  par  M.  A.  Dessalles. 
Tome  HL,  p.  215. 


Larj 
mortai 


HUMANE  TREATMENT. 


229 


mane  masters.  Guiraud,  one  of  the  ship-  chap.  iii. 
wrecked  passengers  of  the  Espdrance,  relates  1688. 
that  he  spent  five  months  in  Saint-Pierre,  on  the 
island  of  Martinique,  and  received  much  kind- 
ness from  several  persons.  In  fact,  not  a  few  of 
the  merchants  and  planters  held  the  same  faith 
with  the  exiles.  They  regarded  them  as  illus- 
trious witnesses  for  the  truth,  and  thought  it  an 
honor  to  acknowledge  them  as  brethren,  and  to 
relieve  their  necessities. 

The  prisoners  landed  on  the  island  of  St.  Do- 
mingo, were  especially  fortunate  in  finding  friends. 
One  of  them,  Samuel  de  Pechels,  relates  that 
upon  reaching  Port-au-Prince,  he  and  his  com- 
rades were  kindly  received  by  the  captain  of  the 
king's  ship  lying  in  the  harbor.  The  governor 
treated  them  with  great  humanity.  De  Pechels 
was  permitted  to  visit  his  fellow-religionists, 
but  he  soon  awakened  the  jealousy  of  the  priests 
and  monks,  who  denounced  him  as  hindering 
the  others  from  becoming  Roman  Catholics ; 
and  he  was  sent  off  to  another  island,  from 
which  he  soon  succeeded  in  making  his  escape. 

The  first  thought  of  the  captives,  upon  reach- 
ing their  place  of  banishment,  was  naturally  that 
of  flight.  In  this  scheme  they  were  joined  by 
many  of  the  Protestant  inhabitants  of  the  islands, 
whom  the  new  policy  of  religious  persecution 
now  determined  to  leave  their  homes  and  seek 
refuge  in  the  Dutch  or  English  islands,  or  on 
the  American  continent.  In  the  island  of  Mar- 
tinique, secret  arrangements  were  made  with  the 
masters  of  certain  ships,  for  the  transportation  of 


11 


il 


I 


230 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Ni 


1 


Chap.  III.  all  the  Huguenot  families  to  some  foreign  terri- 
1687  tory.  The  governor,  De  Blenac,  hearing  of  the 
project,  felt  himself  obliged  to  confer  with  the 
Jesuit  fathers,  and  other  ecclesiastics  of  the 
island.  It  was  resolved  to  begin  with  a  course 
of  intimidation.  The  leading  Protestants  were 
called  together  in  one  of  the  churches,  and 
gravely  warned,  that  if  they  should  persist  in 
their  obstinacy,  they  would  be  dealt  with  in  all 
severity,  according  to  the  king's  command.  The 
result  may  readily  be  imagined.  Every  oppor- 
tunity of  escape  was  speedily  improved.  Many 
of  the  Roman  Catholics  favored  the  flight  of  the 
exiles,  and  helped  them  to  effect  it.  Before 
the  end  of  the  year  1687,  the  king  was  informed 
that  his  Protestant  subjects,  by  whole  families, 
were  leaving  the  islands  daily.' 

The  methods  of  escape  were  various.  Some- 
times the  Huguenot,  watching  upon  the  shore, 
would  succeed  in  attracting  the  notice  of  some 
passing  bark,  and  in  persuading  the  captain  to 
carry  him  with  his  household  and  his  goods  to 
a  friendly  port.  At  another  time,  the  owner  of 
a  small  sloop,  or  schooner,  would  stealthily 
convey  his  family  on  board,  and  set  sail  for 
the  continent.  Such  an  adventurer,  Etienne 
Hamel,  master  of  the  brigantine  Amorante, 
reached  the  harbor  of  New  York  in  June,  1686  : 
"  a  poore  french  Protestant,"  as  he  represents 
himself,    "  who   leaving  his   Estate  behind  him 


'  Histoire   G^nerale   des  Antilles,  par  M.  A.   Dessalles. 
T.  IL,  pp.  64-66. 


Methods 
of  escape. 


FLIGHT  FROM  THE  ISLANDS. 


231 


has  been  forced  to  fly  from  the  Rigorous  Perse-  Chap.  m. 
cution  in  Gardalupa  [Guadeloupe]  into  these  1686. 
parts  with  Intent  here  to  settle."'  The  greater 
number  made  their  way  to  the  English  or  Dutch 
islands,  and  thence  obtained  passage  either  to 
some  Protestant  country  of  Europe,  or  to  Amer- 
ica. A  company  of  thirty,  who  had  come  over 
together  in  one  of  the  vessels  from  Marseilles, 
escaped  from  Martinique  to  the  English  quar- 
ter of  St.  Christopher,  and  there  took  ship  for 
Germany.'' 

It  was  at  this  period  that  a  number  of  the 
French  inhabitants  of  the  Antilles  came  to  New 
York.  In  the  month  of  November,  1686,  the 
governor  of  Canada  received  word  from  that  city 
that  within  a  short  time  fifty  or  sixty  Hugue- 
nots had  arrived  from  the  islands  of  St.  Chris- 
topher and  Martinique,  and  were  settling  them- 
selves there  and  in  the  neighborhood.  "  Fresh 
material,  this,  for  banditti,"  wrote  the  governor, 
in  reporting  the  fact  to  his  royal  master.^  We 
have  the  names  of  fifty-four  of  these  fugitives. 
The  heads  of  families  were,  Alexandre  Allaire, 
Elie  de  Bonrepos,  Jean  Boutilier,  Isaac  Caillaud, 
Ami  Canche,  Daniel  Duchemin,  Pierre  Fleuriau, 
Daniel  Gombauld,  Etienne  Hamel,  Jean  Hastier, 
Pierre   Jouneau,   Jacques    Lasty,    Guillaume  le 


'  English  Manuscripts  in  the  oflfice  of  the  Secretary  of 
State,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Vol.  XXXVIII.,  p.  31. 

'  Bulletin  de  la  soc.  de  I'hist.  du  prot.  franpais,  XII.,  79. 

'  Documents  relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  Vol.  IX.,  p.  .309.  M.  de  Denonville 
to  M.  de  Seignelay,  Quebec,  November  16,  1686. 


H 


ff 


^^'4 


!    :      ^!i 


232 


THE  ANTILLES. 


' 

i- 

■  1;: 

:, 

i 

■  I..' 

,';■   ■■{ 

i 

■  1 

1  is 


■I 


; 


I 

^ 


Chap. in.  Conte,  Pierre  le  Conte,  Josias  le  Vilain,  Ben- 
1686.  jamin  rHommedieu,  Elie  Pelletreau,  Jean  Neuf- 
ville,  Elie  Papin,  Antoine  Pintard,  Andre  Thau- 
vet,  Jacob  Theroulde,  Rene  Tongrelou,  Louis 
Bongrand,  Etienne  Bouyer,  Gilles  Gaudineau, 
Jean  Machet,  Isaac  Mercier,  Paul  Merlin,  Jean 
Pelletreau,  and  Eti^jnne  Valleau.' 

Most  of  these  immigrants,  it  would  appear, 
had  been  residing  in  the  French  islands  for  some 
years.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  number  of  French  Protestants 
who  had  voluntarily  sought  a  home  in  the 
Antilles,   and    had  remained  there  so   long  as 


'  An  Act  for  the  naturalizing  of  Daniell  Duchemin  and 
others,  Sept.  27,  1687,  From  (unpublished  MSS.)  "Stat- 
utes at  Large  of  New  York  :  1 664-1 691.  From  Original 
Records  and  Authentic  Manuscripts."  Kindly  communi- 
cated to  me  by  Geo.  H.  Moore,  LL.D. 

The  Sieur  Boisbelleau,  of  Guadeloupe,  came  to  New  York 
the  year  before.  The  petition  of  Francis  Basset,  master, 
and  Francis  Vincent,  mate,  of  a  vessel  sailing  from  the  port 
of  New  York,  August  13,  1685,  shows  that  they  were  taken 
prisoners  by  the  Spaniards,  who  carried  them  to  the  town 
of  St.  Domingo,  where  they  were  very  ill  used  for  the  space 
of  four  months,  and  from  whence,  by  a  particular  providence 
of  God,  they  made  their  escape  in  a  canoe  to  the  little 
Goyaves.  Arriving  there  with  much  difficulty,  and  destitute 
of  all  things  necessary  (the  Spaniards  having  stripped  them 
of  their  very  clothes)  the  Sieur  Boybelleau  was  moved  with 
compassion  towards  them,  for  the  extreme  misery  of  such 
poor  desolate  captives  that  had  lost  all  they  had,  and  were 
like  also  in  a  short  time  to  lose  their  lives,  and  brought  them 
back  in  his  vessel  to  New  York.  Upon  this  representation 
the  ship  was  exempted  from  duties  and  charges. — (N.  Y. 
Colonial  MSS.,  Vol.  XXXIL  folio  86.)  Denization  was 
granted  to  John  Boisbelleau,  Sept.  2,  1685. — (Calendar  of 
English  MSS.,  N.  Y.,  p.  140.)  The  same  year,  he  settled  at 
Gravesend,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  was  living  there  in  1687. 
— (Documentary  History  of  New  York,  Vol.  I.,  p.  661.) 


TARDY  CHANGE  OF  POLICY. 


233 


they  could  enjoy  some  measure  of  religious  free-  chap.  iii. 
dom.  The  last  eight  names,  however,  are  not  1687. 
found  in  the  lists  of  the  earlier  inhabitants  of  the 
islands.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Bongrand, 
Bouyer,  Gaudineau,  Machet,  Mercier,  Merlin, 
Pelletreau,  and  Valleau,  may  have  belonged  to 
the  body  of  Huguenots  transported  to  the 
islands  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes.  Many  others,  doubtless,  of  whom  we 
have  no  definite  knowledge,  found  their  way  to 
this  country,  and  settled  in  South  Carolina,  in 
Virginia,  in  Maryland,  as  well  as  in  New  York 
and  New  England. 

The  Huguenot  refugee  from  England  who 
reached  Boston  in  October,  1687,  learned  on  the 
voyage,  by  a  ship  from  Martinique,  that  nearly 
all  the  French  Protestants  had  escaped  from  the 
islands.  "  We  have  several  of  them  here  in 
Boston,"  he  adds,  "  with  their  entire  fami- 
lies." 

Too  late  to  arrest  this  movement,  so  ruinous 
to  its  colonial  interests,  the  French  government 
relaxed  the  severity  of  a  policy  that  was  depop- 
ulating the  islands.  Orders  came  from  the  king, 
enjoining  great  gentleness  toward  those  who 
persisted  in  their  heresy,  as  well  as  toward  the 
"  new  converts."     These   were  not  to   be  com-  ' 

pelled  to  approach  the  sacraments,  but  were 
only  to  be  required  to  attend  upon  religious  in- 
struction. Both  the  religionists  and  the  con- 
verts, for  their  encouragement  to  remain  in 
the  islands,  were  relieved  of  the  poll-tax  imposed 


Ami 


w 


n  Y' 


I  i        '! 
t  il 


234 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Protest- 
ants 


It  I 


!  i 


ti 


I   ' 


chap^iii.  upon  the  inhabitants,  for  the  first  year  of  their 
1688.     residence.' 

A  modern  writer  states  that  considerable 
numbers  of  French  Protestants  remained  in  the 
Antilles  after  th°  period  of  active  persecution  ; 
"  submissively  awaiting  the  happy  hour  when  it 
might  please  the  sovereign  to  revoke  the  ordi- 
nances that  oppressed  them,  and  enable  them 
"^"^°s  to  enjoy  without   molestation   the  blessings  of 

islands,  his  reign."  ^  From  time  to  time,  some  of  the 
colonists  who  had  taken  refuge  in  America  re- 
turned to  the  West  Indies  ;3  and  among  the 
French  merchants  of  New  York,  the  custom 
long  prevailed — a  custom  introduced  by  the 
refugees — of  sending  their  sons  upon  the  com- 

'  Ordre  du  Roi  touchant  les  Religionnaires  et  les  nou- 
veaux  Convertis  envoyes  aux  lies  Du  i*""  Sept.  1688.  Sa 
M^  a  approuve  la  distribution  que  les  Administrateurs  ont 
fait  dans  toutes  les  Isles,  des  Religionnaires  et  nouveaux 
Convertis  qu'  Elle  leur  a  envoyes,  et  leur  recommande  de 
tenir  la  main  a  ce  que  ceux  qui  font  encore  profession  de  la 
R.  P.  R.  abjurent,  et  que  les  autres  fassent  leurs  devoirs  de 
Catholiques,  non  pas  en  les  obligeant  par  force  a  approcher 
les  Sacremens  ;  mais  en  les  traitant  avec  douceur,  et  les 
obligeant  seulement  a  assister  aux  instructions.  Elle  desire 
aussi  qu'ils  tiennent  la  main  a  ce  que  les  Ecclesiastiques  des 
Isles  aient  une  application  particuliere  a  les  instruire,  et 
qu'ils  fassent  de  leur  cot^  tout  ce  qui  dependra  d  'eux  pour 
les  obliger  h  rester  dans  les  Isles,  et  de  s'y  faire  Habitans. — 
Loix  et  Constitutions  des  Colonies  Francoises  de  I'Amerique 
sous  le  Vent.  Tome  I.,  p.  469. 

"  Histoire  Generale  des  Antilles,  par  M.  Adrien  Dessalles. 
Tome  III.,  p.  215. 

*  Others  remained  longer  in  the  islands,  and  came  to 
America  at  a  later  day.  Moses  Gombeaux,  commander  of 
the  sloop  St.  Bertram,  of  Martinico,  petitioned  the  governor 
and  council,  June  8,  1726,  for  permission  to  stop  in  the  port 
of  New  York  for  supplies  and  repairs.     Moyse  Gombauld 


i 


rrr. 


salles. 

ne  to 
er  of 
ernor 
port 
bauld 


BERMUDA. 


235 


pletlon  of  their   business    education,    to   spend  chap.  in. 
some  time  in  the   islands,  whither  many  family 
and  social  ties  continued  to  draw  them.' 

Several  Huguenot  families  that  settled  in  the 
French  West  Indies,  eventually  removed  to  Ber- 
muda, where  their  descendants  are  found  at  the 
present  day.  The  Godet,  Corbusier'  and  Le 
Thuillier  families,  went  thither  from  the  island 
of  St.  Eustatius.3     A  tradition  preserved  in  the 


and  Anne  Frangoise  Pintard,  his  wife,  were  members  of  the 
French  Church  in  New  York,  1 736-1742.  A  tradition  exists 
in  the  Pintard  family,  to  the  effect  that  "  Moses  Gorabauld, 
who  was  son-in-law  to  Anthony  Pintard,  was  imprisoned  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  escaped  by  means  of  a  rope,"  which 
had  been  stealthily  conveyed  to  him  by  some  friends,  and 
"  with  which  he  scaled  the  prison  walls,  and  so  escaped." 

'  The  History  of  the  late  Province  of  New  York,  by  the 
Hon.  William  Smith.  New  York  :  1829.  Vol.  H.,  p.  95, 
nofe. 

*  "About  a  century  ago  there  was  a  Colonel  Corbusier 
among  the  first  gentry  of  the  island."  (Gen.  Sir  John  H. 
Lefroy.) 

"  The  following  "  French  names  from  registers  of  births, 
marriages,  etc.,  at  St.  Eustatius,  from  1773  to  1778,"  were 
very  obligingly  procured  for  me  in  the  year  1877,  by  Gen- 
eral Sir  John  H.  Lefroy,  at  that  time  Governor  of  Bermuda. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  are  names  of  French 
Protestants,  inasmuch  as  the  entries  were  made  by  the  chap- 
lain to  the  Dutch  forces  in  St.  Eustatius  : 

Romage.  M.  Cuvilje  (child  buried  April  29,  1773). 
Sellioke.  Corbusier.  La  Grasse  (buried  April  4,  i775). 
Raveaue.  M.  Collomb  (buried  April  16,  1776).  Preveaux 
(buried  June  2,  1776).  Dubrois  Godette  (buried  May  29, 
1776).  M.  J.  Cadette  (buried  June  12,  1776).  Miss  Le 
Spere  (buried  Aug.  20,  1776).  Zan^s.  Mrs.  IBardin  (buried 
Jan.  28,  1773).  Danzies.  M.  Guizon  (buried  Dec.  5, 
1773).  Erth6.  Miss  Chabert  (buried  June  5,  1775).  P^"" 
yea.  M.  Gilliard  (buried  May  20,  1776).  Charitres.  M. 
Lefevre  (buried  May  30,  1776).  Pesant.  M.  Gillott  (buried 
Sept.  19,  1777).     Pancho.     L'Comb.     Caianna.     Savallani. 


i.; 


i 


■'!*" 


\\ 


236 


THE  ANTILLES. 


Chapjii.  Godet  family,  of  Bermuda,  represents  that  two 
brothers  of  that  name  fled  from  France  at  the 
time  of  the  Revocation,  effecting  their  escape 
by  hiding  themselves  in  empty  casks,  on  board 
a  ship  sailing  for  England.  From  England 
they  emigrated  to  the  West  Indies,  where  they 
found  homes,  the  one  in  Guadeloupe,  and  the 
other  in  Antigua  and  St.  Eustatius.      The  Perot 


1 1 


Foissin.  Lagourgue.  Crochet, — Theodorus  Godet,  born 
about  the  year  1670,  married  Sarah  La  Roux  in  Antigua  in 
1700.  He  was  a  prosperous  merchant,  who  resided  for 
several  years  in  the  island  of  St.  Eustatius,  and  died 
September  20,  1740,  in  Maho  Bay,  Guadeloupe,  whither 
he  had  gone  to  visit  his  brother.  He  had  eight 
children  :  Anne,  Sarah,  Theodorus,  Jacob,  Maitin  Du 
Brois,  Mary  Ann,  Gideon  and  Adrian.  Martin  Du 
Brois,  born  in  VVilloughby  Bay,  Antigua,  March  6,  1709, 
married  Adriana,  daughter  of  Lucus  and  Anne  Benners, 
July  17,  1 73 1.  He  died  Nov.  25,  1796.  His  son  Theodorus, 
born  in  St.  Eustatius,  Sept.  27,  1734,  was  educated  in  Bos- 
ton, U.  S.  He  married  in  Bermuda,  Aug.  3,  1753,  Melicent, 
daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Gilbert,  and  had  six  children. 
He  died  in  Bermuda  in  1808.  Thomas  Martin  Du  Brois, 
son  of  Theodorus  and  Melicent  Godet,  was  born  in  Ber- 
muda, May  I,  1769.  He  married,  March  25,  1795,  Mary  Ann, 
widow  of  William  Gilbert,  Esq.,  and  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
John  Moore,  Rector  and  Incumbent  of  Somerset  Tribe. 
He  died  at  St.  Eustatius,  Sept.  23, 1826,  leaving  five  children. 
Thomas  Martin  Du  Brois,  son  of  the  preceding,  was  born  in 
Paget's  Parish,  Oct.  3,  1802.  He  married  his  cousin,  Meli- 
cent Godet,  Dec.  27,  1832.  He  died.  May  29,  1861,  leaving 
six  children,  among  whom  is  Frederick  Lennock  Godet, 
Esq.,  Clerk  of  Her  Majesty's  Council,  Bermuda. 

Theodore  Godet  was  naturalized  in  England,  Sept.  9, 
1698. — (Lists  of  naturalized  Denizens  ;  in  Protestant  Exiles 
from  France  in  the  Reign  of  Louis  XIV.  By  the  Rev. 
David  C.  A.  Agnew.  London,  1874.  Vol.  III.,  p.  61.)  The 
name  Dubrois,  used  in  this  family  as  a  baptismal  name,  is 
that  of  a  Huguenot  family  that  fled  in  1683  from  La 
Rochelleto  England. — (Archives  Nationales,  Tt.  No.  259. — 
Protestant  Exiles,  etc.,  III.,  p.  55.) 


--•■f- 


THE  ANTILLES. 


237 


family,  of  Bermuda,  is  descended  from  Jacques  chap.  iii. 
Perot,    one    of   the    Huguenot  refugees  in    the 
city  of  New  York.' 

'  Jacques,  son  of  Jacques  Perot  and  Marie  Cousson  his  wife, 
was  born  May  20,  17 12,  and  was  baptized  in  the  French 
Church  in  New  York,  May  26,  **  apres  Taction  de  I'apres 
diner." — (Records  of  the  French  Church,  New  York.)  He  was 
sent  in  early  manhood  by  his  father  to  Bermuda,  where  he 
settled,  and  married  Frances  Mallory.  He  died,  February 
29, 1780,  leaving  eight  children,  Martha,  Mary,  EUiston,  John, 
James,  William,  Frances,  and  Angelina.  Elliston,  son  of 
Jacques  and  Marie  P^rot,  born  in  Bermuda,  March  16. 1747, 
was  sent  to  New  York  to  be  educated,  by  his  uncle,  Robert 
Elliston,  then  Comptroller  of  the  Customs,  who  placed  him  in 
the  school  kept  bypasteur  Stouppe,  in  New  Rochelle,  where 
he  was  a  schoolmate  of  the  celebrated  John  Jay.  Upon 
his  uncle's  death,  he  returned  to  Bermuda.  After  engaging 
in  business  in  the  islands  of  Dominica,  St.  Christopher  and 
St.  Eustatius,  he  removed  to  the  United  States  in  1784,  and 
commenced  business  with  his  brother  John  as  a  merchant  in 
Philadelphia.  In  1786,  he  was  admitted  a  member  of  the 
Society  of  Friends.  He  married,  in  1787,  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Hannah  Sansom,  who  died  August  22,  1808. 
Elliston  Perot  was  prominently  associated  with  n  in  v  of  the 
public  enterprises  of  his  time,  and  left  a  name  that  is  held 
in  high  honor  to  this  day.  He  died  in  Philadelphia,  Novem- 
ber 28,  1834,  aged  eighty-eight  years.  His  brother  William 
left  a  son,  William  B.  Perot,  of  Parlaville,  Hamilton,  Ber- 
muda, who  died  in  1 871,  leaving  a  son,  William  Henry  Perot, 
of  Baltimore,  Maryland.  The  family  is  also  represented  in 
this  country  by  Elliston's  descendants,  Francis  Perot,  Esq., 

id  Elliston    Perot 


I 


now 


[1884] 


ighly- 


year. 


I     :'r 


t'l: 


Morris,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  Penn. 


CHAPTER    IV 

Approach  of  the  Revocation. 


I  li 


'I    i 


Chap. IV.  The  political  importance  of  ihe  Huguenots  in 
1628.  France  may  be  said  to  have  ceased  with  the  fall 
of  their  principal  city,  La  Rochelle,  in  the  year 
1628.  That  importance  hau  first  appeared  in 
the  reign  of  Francis  H.  It  lasted  for  seventy- 
years — through  the  stormy  times  of  the  League, 
and  the  Civil  Wars,  the  pacific  reign  of  Henry 
IV.,  and  the  years  following  his  reign,  during 
which  the  provisions  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
were  carried  out  with  some  deofree  of  faithful- 
ness.  It  waned  rapidly  under  Louis  XIII.,  when 
the  government  showed  itself  increasingly  dis- 
posed to  set  aside  the  provisions  of  that  Edict, 
One  after  anotlier  of  the  cautionary  towns  and 
the  fortified  places  held  by  the  Huguenots  suc- 
cumbed to  the  royal  forces.  At  length,  after  a 
siege  of  fourteen  months,  La  Rochelle  was  cap- 
tured, and  with  its  fall,  the  part  that  Protest- 
antism had  played  in  the  affairs  of  the  state 
came  to  an  end. 

The  higher  nobility  now  very  generally  de- 
serted the  PntLestant  cause.  Many  of  them 
had  join«"  '  during  the  civil  wars  ;  and  so  long 
a      '  •  lined  in  full  force,  they  found 

I  tage  to  cling  to  the  Huguenot 

ty.  ^   atical   consequence  was  not  the 


FaU 

of 

La 

Bochelle, 


M  I   ,    * 


POLITICAL  IMPORTANCE. 


239 


only  feature  that  held  out  inducements  to  those  chap.  iv. 
who  were  ambitious  of  preferment  and  distinc-  1628. 
tion.  The  ecclesiastical  system  of  the  Reformed 
Church,  with  its  presbyterian  synods  and  assem- 
blies, in  which  laymen  sat  with  the  ministers, 
gave  opportunity  to  the  Protestant  nobles  to 
take  the  lead  in  spiritual  affairs,  and  like  the 
political  assemblies,  provincial  and  national, 
which  formed,  indeed,  no  part  of  the  ecclesiastical 
system,  but  which,  ever  since  the  time  of  the 
massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew's  day,  had  con- 
tributed not  a  little  to  the  strength  of  the 
Huguenots,  served  to  increase  the  prominence 
of  the  Protestant  nobility. 

No  longer  influential  with  the  great,  nor  for- 
midable in  the  eyes  of  the  government,  the 
Huguenots  accepted  the  situation,  and,  after  the 
fall  of  La  Rochelle  and  Montauban,  gave  them- 
selves up  zealously  to  the  pursuit  of  the  arts  of 
peace.  A  time  of  comparative  tranquillity  and 
prosperity  ensued  upon  the  loss  of  their  political 
prestige.  Throughout  the  provinces  where  they 
were  most  numerous,  they  engaged  with  fresh 
diligence  in  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  trade. 
The  Protestants  of  southern  and  western  France 
surpassed  all  others  as  cultivators  of  the  soil. 
In  many  of  the  seaboard  towns,  Huguenot  mer- 
chants had  long  been  foremost  in  commercial 
enterprise.  The  foreign  trade  of  the  kingdom 
came  to  be,  very  largely,  controlled  by  them.' 


The 
Hugue- 
nots 
ceas? 
to  form  a 
party. 


'  A  striking  testimony  to  this  fact  is  given  in  a  document 
already  cited.  (See  above,  page  126,  twtei)  Announcing  to  the 


240       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 


Chap.  IV. 
1629- 
1660. 


Their 
devotion 
to  trade 

and 
manufac- 
tures. 


Inventive  and  industrious,  they  applied  them- 
selves with  great  success  to  the  mechanical  arts. 
The  manufactures  of  woolen  cloth,  and  linen 
goods,  of  serge,  and  silks,  and  sail-cloth,  the 
iron-works  and  paper  mills,  and  tanneries,  that 
enriched  France  at  this  period,  were  founded  or 
promoted  chiefly  by  Protestants.  In  every  de- 
partment of  labor,  they  were  fltted  to  excel  by 
their  morality,  their  intelligence,  and  their  thrift. 
The  truthfulness  and  honesty  of  the  Huguenot 
became  proverbial.  "  They  are  bad  Catholics," 
said  one  of  their  enemies,  "  but  excellent  men  of 
business."  "  All  our  seaports,"  complained  an- 
other, "are  full  of  heretic  captains,  pilots  and 
tracers,  who,  inasmuch  as  their  souls  are  alto- 
gether busied  in  traffic,  make  themselves  more 
perfect  therein  than  Catholics  can  well  be." 
Religiously  observing  one  day  in  seven  as  a  day 
of  rest,  their  devotion  to  trade  was  not  inter- 
rupted by  the  many  saints'  days  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  calendar.  Surrounded  by  watchful 
enemies,  and  schooled  to  self-restraint,  they 
were  prudent  and  circumspect  in  their  dealings 
with  others,  and  ready  to  combine  and  co-operate 
among  themselves  in  their  business  proeedures. 
Meanwhile,  their  loyalty  to  the  government 
could  not  be  impeached.  More  than  once  the 
king  and  his   ministers  testified  to  the  fact  that 


governor  of  Canada  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
Louis  XIV.  speaks  of  the  great  number  of  conversions  that 
have  taken  place,  ^^  7v/iol(  citi<?s,  in  which  almost  all  the 
merchants  made  profession  of  the  Pretended  Reformed  Reli- 
gion, having  abjured  it." 


i        1 « , 


ings 
'rate 
iLires. 

lent 

the 

Ithat 


ptes, 

that 

f/ie 

\Reli- 


LOYALTY  OF  THE  HUGUENOTS. 


241 


;  f 


i6ei. 


1668. 


the  Protestants  no  longer  caused  the  state  any  Chap.  in. 
anxiety.  When  a  discontented  prince,  as  the  1632- 
Duke  of  Montmorency,  or  the  Prince  of  Conde, 
sought  to  draw  them  into  rebelHon,  for  the  fur- 
therance of  his  ambitious  schemes,  he  found  the 
Huguenots  firm  in  their  attachment  to  the 
throne.  A  very  striking  declaration  to  this 
effect  was  made  by  Cardinal  Mazarin,  prime 
minister  of  Louis  XIII.,  a  short  time  before  his 
death.  The  king,  said  he  to  a  deputation  of 
Protestants  who  came  to  remonstrate  with  him 
in  relation  to  certain  encroachments  upon  their 
rights,  would  be  wanting  in  justice  and  in  good- 
ness, if  he  did  not  look  with  the  same  favor 
upon  the  Reformed  as  upon  the  Catholics,  since 
they  have  been  not  less  prompt  to  shed  their 
blood  and  to  yield  up  their  property  for  his 
service,  than  they.'  Even  Louis  XIV.  acknowl- 
edged at  a  later  day  that  his  Protestant  subjects 
had  given  him  abundant  proofs  of  their  fidelity. 
It  was  no  political  necessity,  then,  demanding 
a  change  in  its  treatment  of  them,  that  impelled 
the  government,  upon  the  death  of  Mazarin,  10 
enter  upon  that  course  of  vexatious  restriction 
and  oppression  which  culminated,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  later,  in  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes.  The  Huguenots  were  inoffensive  to 
the  state,  and  positively  important  to  the  ma- 
terial interests  of  the  country.  The  king  had 
confessedly  no  better  servants  than  they,  in  the 
various  offices,  civic  and  military,  which  as  yet 

« 

'  Benoist,  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  Tome  HI.,  p.  268. 


i 

■il 


H0>rch 

% 
1661. 


h      ! 


ii    '''ii; 


1:    i„ 


July  8, 
1613. 


242     ~  APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

Chap.  IV.  were  open  to  those  of  the  new  religion,  as  well 
1661.  as  to  those  of  the  old.  France  had  no  more 
peaceable,  moral,  enterprising  citizens.  But  the 
Church  of  Rome  continued  to  be,  as  it  had 
been  from  the  first,  the  vigilant  and  relentless 
enemy  of  the  Refc^ied  faith.  And  the  Church 
had  now  a  pliant  tool  in  the  occupant  of  the 
throne  of  France.  Louis  XIV.,  like  his  prede- 
cessor, had  pledged  his  word,  upon  ascending 
the  throne, to  maintain  the  provisions  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes  irrevocably.'  But  already  the  doc- 
trine had  been  broached  and  advocated,  that  this 
perpetual  edict  was  to  be  held  binding  only  so 
long  as  the  occasion  for  its  existence  might  last.' 
If  by  any  means  the  heretics  in  whose  behalf 
that  edict  had  been  prepared,  should  be  induced 
to  renounce  their  errors,  then  the  law  would  be- 
come inoperative,  and  might  properly  be  rc?- 
voked.     To  bring  about   this  result,   the  kin^, 

'  "  Savoir  faisons  que  nous  ....  avons  dit  et  declare,  disons 
et  declarons  par  ces  presentes,  signees  de  notre  main, 
voulons  et  nous  plait,  que  nosdits  sujets  faisans  profession 
de  ladite  Religion  pretendue  Reformee,  jouissent  et  ayent 
I'e.xercise  libre  et  entier  de  ladite  Religion,  conformement 
aux  Edits,  Declarations,  et  Reglemens  faits  sur  ce  sujet,  sans 
qu'a  ce  faire  ils  puissent  etre  troublez,  ni  inquietez  en 
quelque  sorte  et  maniere  que  ce  soit.  Lescpiels  Edits  bien 
que  perpetuels,  nous  avons  de  nouveau,  entant  que  besoin 
est,  ou  seroit,  confirmez,  et  confirmons  par  cesdites  pre- 
sentes :  voulons  les  contrevenans  h  iceux  etre  punis  et 
chutiez,  comme  perturbateurs  du  repos  public." — (Declara- 
tion, portant  confirmation  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  etc.,  donnc^^e 
par  le  Roi  Louis  XIV.  en  minorite,  le  8.  de  Juillet  1643. 
Benoist,  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  tome  troisiemc, 
premiere  partie.     Recueil  d'Edits,  etc.  Pp.  3,  4.) 

'  Benoist,  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  tome  troisi^me, 
premiere  partie,  pp.  281,  282. 


t^az 


<':V\ 


THE  FAMILY  ATTACKED. 


243 


inspired  by  the  clergy,  bent  all  his  energies.  A 
series  of  measures,  designed  to  hamper  and  re- 
press, and  more  and  more  to  intimidate  and  dis- 
courage the  Protestants  throughout  the  king- 
dom, was  entered  upon  by  the  government. 

One  of  the  first  of  these  measures  was  di- 
rected against  the  family.  In  1661,  a  decree  of 
the  Council  fixed  the  aa^e  at  which  Protestant 
children  might  lawfully  renounce  the  faith  of 
their  parents,  at  fourteen  years  in  the  case  of 
boys,  and  at  twelve  in  the  case  of  girls.  Subse- 
quent decrees  prohibited  parents  from  seeking 
to  dissuade  their  children  from  taking  this  step, 
forbade  their  sending  them  out  of  the  country 
to  be  educated,  and  finally  fixed  the  age  of  con- 
version at  seven  years.  No  better  device  for 
introducing  disorder  and  misery  into  the  homes 
of  the  Huguenots  could  possibly  have  been 
adopted.  The  zealous  emissaries  of  the  Church 
availed  themselves  abundantly  of  the  authority 
given  them  under  these  laws.  The  whole  country 
soon  rang  with  the  lamentations  and  complaints 
of  parents  whose  children  were  secretly  enticed 
or  openly  carried  off  from  their  natural  pro- 
tectors. The  slightest  pretext  answered  to  jus- 
tify the  kidnapper.  The  child  that  could  be  per- 
suaded, by  the  promise  of  a  toy  or  of  a  holiday, 
to  say  Ave  Afarm,  or  to  express  a  willingness 
to  attend  mass,  was  instantly  claimed  as  a  Cath- 
olic, and  either  placed  at  once  in  the  hands  of 
the  clergy,  to  be  brought  up  as  such,  or  returned 
to  the  parents  with  strict  orders  to  bring  it  up 
as  a  member  of  the  true  Church.     Often,  indeed, 


Chap.  IV. 

1661. 


March 
24. 


Jane 

n, 

1681. 


!i  III 


i  i 


Chap.  IV. 
1681. 


November 

28, 

1664. 


April 

2, 
1666. 


November 

9, 

1670. 


December 

4, 

1671. 


244       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

the  capture  was  effected  with  even  less  formality. 
Children  were  taken  without  form  of  law,  and 
the  protests  and  prayers  of  parents  were  utterly 
unheeded  by  the  courts  of  justice.  This  mode 
of  persecution  alone,  says  Benoist,  was  so  severe, 
that  it  would  seem  well-nigh  impossible  to  add 
anything  to  it.' 

Other  measures  of  the  government  deprived 
the  Huguenots  of  the  facilities  they  enjoyed  for 
the  education  of  their  children.  The  Edict  of 
Nantes  had  secured  to  them  equal  rights,  in 
these  respects,  with  their  Roman  Catholic  neigh- 
bors. Now,  these  rights  were  gradually  cur- 
tailed. In  1664,  the  new  buildings  which  the 
Protestants  of  Nismes  had  added  to  their  college 
were  given  to  the  Jesuits,  and  the  professors 
were  placed  under  the  authority  of  the  Jesuit 
rector.  Two  years  later,  Protestant  nobles  were 
forbidden  to  maintain  academies  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  their  children.  Another  decree  pro- 
hibited the  consistories  and  synods  of  the 
Reformed  Church  from  censuring  parents  who 
should  send  their  children  to  Roman  Catholic 
schools.  A  little  later,  Protestant  school- 
masters were  forbidden  to  teach  children  any 
branch  of  learning  besides  reading,  writing,  and 
arithmetic.  A  decree  soon  followed,  ordaining 
that  but  a  single  school  of  the  "  Pretended  Re- 
formed Religion"  should  be  kept  in  any  one  of 
the  places  where  the  public  profession  of  that 


*  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  tome  troisi^me,  seconde 
partie,  p.  19. 


THE  SCHOOLS  ATTACKED. 


245 


religion  was  permitted  under  the  Edict  of 
Nantes,  and  that  no  more  than  a  single  master 
should  be  allowed  for  each  school.  While  on 
the  one  hand  thus  reducing  the  opportunities 
for  primary  instruction  to  the  narrowest  possi- 
ble limits,  the  government  on  the  other  hand 
proceeded  to  suppress  the  great  Protestant 
colleges  and  academies,  which  had  been,  for 
a  century  or  more,  the  glory  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  of  France.  In  1681,  the  Council  of 
State  suppressed  the  Protestant  academy  which 
Coligny  had  founded  at  Chatillon-sur-Loing ; 
and  the  more  famous  academy  of  Sedan,  which 
had  been  founded  by  Henry  IV.  In  1684,  ^^^^ 
academy  of  Die  was  suppressed.  In  January  of 
the  next  year,  the  academy  of  Saumur,  "  a  torch" 
that  had  "illuminated  all  Europe"  for  eighty 
years,  was  extinguished.  The  last  of  these 
Protestant  seats  of  learning,  the  academy  of 
Montauban,  ceased  to  exist  by  an  order  of  the 
Council  dated  the  fifth  of  March,  1685. 

The  Protestant  churches,  or  "  temples,"  as 
they  were  called,  shared  the  fate  of  the  schools 
and  colleges.  Upon  the  slightest  conceivable 
pretext,  they  were  closed  or  demolished.  In 
1662,  tv/enty-three  out  of  the  twenty-five 
churches  in  the  small  territory  of  Gex,  on  the 
border  of  Switzerland,  where  the  Protestants 
composed  a  majority  of  the  population,  were 
shut  up,  on  the  ground  that  the  provisions  of 
the  Edict  of  Nantes  did  not  extend  to  this  terri- 
tory, which  had  been  acquired  by  the  crown 
since  its  enactment.     From  that  time  until  the 


Chap.  IV. 

1671. 


July 

9, 
1681. 

September 

11, 
1684. 


January 

8, 

1685. 


Harch 

6, 
1685. 


January 

16, 

1662. 


,  .1 


I     : 


I 


Tim 


h 


I 


■:m 


i  i 


,iii  i 


^  i 


il    :? 


■ill      I 


If  J    - 

U'l'   . 


i 


lU 


'I 

iiii 


246       APPROACH  OF  THE   REVOCATION, 

Chap.  IV.  epoch  of  the  Revocation,  in  1685,  not  a  year 
1662-  passed  that  was  not  signalized  by  the  destruc- 
jgg_  tion  of  many  Huguenot  houses  of  worship. 
Sometimes,  this  destruction  was  the  work  of  the 
mob,  incited  by  the  clergy,  and  rarely  punished 
by  the  authorities.  More  generally,  it  was 
performed  by  the  officers  of  the  law,  at  the 
command  of  the  government  itself.  Occasion- 
ally, a  reason  Avas  assigned  for  the  suppression. 
Thus  the  "temple"  of  St.  Hippolyte,  in  the 
region  of  the  Cevennes,  was  torn  down  by 
order  of  the  Council  in  1681,  because  one  of 
the  worshipers  failed  to  uncover  his  head 
when  the  host  was  passing,  as  he  came  out 
of  the  church  door.  The  "temple"  of  Mil- 
haud,  in  Languedoc,  was  demolished  in  1682, 
because  some  of  the  Huguenots,  on  their  way 
by  boat  to  the  service,  had  sung  psalms  aloud. 
The  "  temple "  of  Usez,  in  Languedoc,  where 
three-fourths  of  the  population  were  Protest- 
ants, was  destroyed  in  1676,  for  the  reason  that 
it  was  too  near  the  church  of  the  Papists,  and 
the  psalm-singing-  disturbed  the  service  of  the 
mass.  An  edict  published  in  1680  prohibited  the 
Protestant  ministers  from  permitting  Roman 
Catholics  to  frequent  their  preaching,  and  inter- 
dicted forever  the  observance  of  "  the  religion  " 
in  any  place  where  a  Roman  Catholic  had  been 
admitted  to  profess  it.  But  in  most  cases,  no 
reason  whatever  was  given.  A  congregation 
received  notice  of  the  suppression  and  confisca- 
tion of  its  sanctuary,  cemetery,  and  consistory- 
house,  and  all  protest  or  appeal  was  vain.     It 


THE  CHURCHES  ATTACKED. 


247 


was  even  made  a  crime  for  the  shelterless  flock 
CO  meet  for  prayer  and  praise  under  the  open 
sky,  on  the  site  of  their  demolished  "temple," 
as  many  congregations  persisted  in  doing  in 
spite  of  fine  and  imprisonment. 

No  measures  taken  by  the  government  caused 
greater  satisfaction  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
than  those  by  which  it  thus  sought  to  hinder 
the  exercise  of  the  hated  reliofion.  An  assem- 
bly  of  the  clergy  of  the  diocese  of  Aries  gave 
public  thanks  to  the  king  "for  the  demolition 
of  so  many  temples  which  had  been  raised  to 
the  idol  of  falsehood,  for  the  suppression  of  so 
many  colleges,  which  were  seminaries  of  perdi- 
tion," and  declared  that  it  regarded  "  these 
happy  beginnings  as  auguring  that  the  king 
would  deal  the  fatal  blow  to  the  monstrous 
hydra  of  heresy." 

The  policy  of  restriction  which  thus  bore 
upon  the  family,  the  school  and  the  church,  fol- 
lowed the  Huguenot  also  into  his  daily  calling. 
Though  the  Edict  of  Nantes  expressly  provided 
for  the  security  of  the  Protestants  in  all  their 
lawful  avocations,  the  government  of  Louis 
XIV.,  long  before  the  Revocation,  began  to 
close  against  them,  one  by  one,  the  employ- 
ments in  which  hitherto  they  had  found  means 
of  support.  They  were  excluded  successively 
from  all  civil  and  municipal  charges,  qs  farmers 
and  receivers  of  taxes,  officers  of  the  mint, 
magistrates,  notaries,  advocates,  marshals  and 
sergeants.  The  professions  were  commanded 
to  repel  them.      They  were  forbidden  to  prac- 


Chap.  IV. 

1662- 
1(385. 


i 


Exclusion 

from 

trades 

and 
profes- 
sions. 


I 


w^^ 


1685. 


81  t 


4 

1^ 

11  1 

m 

f  1 

i 

t 

'f' ;]! 

1 

,         ■    i  ! 

1 

1 

f 

i 

248       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

Chap.  IV.  tise  as  physicians  or  surgeons,  or  to  exercise  the 
1662-  functions  of  printers,  booksellers,  clerks  and 
public  messengers.  The  various  classes  of 
craftsmen  were  cautioned  against  admitting 
them.  No  Protestant  was  allowed  to  act  as 
guardian  of  orphan  children,  though  the  parents 
miirht  have  been  Protestants.  Hugruenot 
women  were  no  longer  suffered  to  act  as  millin- 
ers, laundresses  or  midwives.  The  ingenuity  of 
the  sfovernment  seems  to  have  been  taxed  to 
the  utmost,  to  contrive  ways  of  harassing  and 
hindering  the  obdurate  heretic,  and  forcing  him 
within  the  pale  of  the  Church. 

But  the  triumph  of  that  ingenuity  was  re- 
served for  the  Drag07tnades.  This  metliod  of 
procuring  forced  conversions  was  not  altogether 
new.  A  similar  method  had  been  tried,  many 
years  before,  by  the  troops  of  Louis  XIII.,  in  the 
conquered  province  of  Beam,  and  it  had  proved 
eminently  successful.  The  king,  in  his  desire 
for  the  more  rapid  conversion  of  his  Protestant 
subjects,  now  suggested  a  renewal  of  the  experi- 
ment. The  dragonnadcs  consisted  simply  in  the 
military  occupation  of  a  territory  whose  inhab- 
itants were  at  peace  and  defenseless.  Bodies 
of  soldiers  were  marched  into  its  towns  and 
villages,  and  quartered  upon  the  Huguenot 
families.  "  If,  according  to  a  fair  distribution," 
wrote  the  king,  "  they  could  entertain  as  many 
as  ten  apiece,  you  may  assign  them  twenty." 
The  troops  had  orders  to  prolong  their  stay, 
until  their  hosts  should  abjure.  Meanwhile,  they 
were  at  liberty  to  inflict  upon  them  any  kind  of 


October 
1620. 


March, 
1681. 


■r— «SS 


1 

I  ''■ 
■  I   i 


THE  DRAGONNADES. 


249 


outrage,    short    of    violation    or    death.      The  chap.  iv. 
wretched   famihes   saw  themselves  not   only  im-     1681. 
poverished,  and  liable  to  be  utterly  beggared  by 
their  rapacious  guests,  but  exposed  also  to  their 
licensed   brutality.     The  historian  Benoist   fills 
many  pages  with  particulars  of  these  inflictions, 
and    adds:   "In    short,   these  dragoons  did,  in 
order  to  compel  these  people  to  turn  Catholic, 
all    that   soldiers   are   accustomed    to  do  in  an 
enemy's   country,    for  the    purpose   of    forcing 
their  hosts  to  give  up  their  money,  or  to  reveal     inan 
the  place  where  they  have  hidden  their  goods.    JJ^^J* 
They  spared  neither  men,  nor  women,  nor  chil- 
dren ;  neither  the   poor,  nor   the  sick,  nor   the 
aged." 

It  was  in  June,  1681, — directly  after  the  out- 
break of  this  inhuman  system  of  warfare  upon  the 
innocent  and  the  defenseless, — that  the  king 
issued  the  declaration  to  which  reference  has 
already  been  made,  permitting  the  children  of  per- 
sons of  the  Reformed  religion  to  renounce  it,  and 
to  embrace  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  at  the  age 
of  seven  years.  And  it  w'ould  be  hard  to  say 
which  of  these  two  measures  produced  the 
greater  consternation  among  the  unfortunate 
Protestants  of  France,  and  which  awakened 
the  deeper  indignation  throughout  Protestant 
Europe.  If  the  one  decree  consigned  the 
family  to  the  violence  of  a  brutal  soldiery,  the 
other  exposed  it  to  the  insidious  arts  of  nuns 
and  priests.  Henceforth,  no  Huguenot  home 
was  safe  from  invasion  :  and  Louis  had  at  last 
convinced  his  Protestant  subjects  that  there  was 


HI 


June 

n, 

1681. 


111' 


I 


fl^ 


^. 


Forced 

oonver- 

■iona. 


250       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

Chap.  IV.  no  length   to  which  he  was  not  ready  to  go,  to 
1681,     "compel  them  to  enter"'  the  fold  of  Rome. 

The  dragomiadcs  began  in  Poitou  :  but  under 
the  directions  of  Marillac,  governor  of  that 
province,  the  system  speedily  extended  to  the 
other  provinces  of  France.  Its  immediate  results 
were  highly  satisfactory  to  the  clergy  and  the 
court.  It  mattered  little  to  either,  that  the  con- 
versions reported  to  them  were  forced,  and  had 
been  procured  by  the  most  iniquitous  means. 
France  was  in  a  fair  way  to  be  rid  of  the  plague 
of  heresy,  and  the  time  was  at  hand  when  the 
hated  Edict  of  Nantes  might  be  abolished  be- 
cause no  longer  operative. 

These  rejoicings,  however,  were  soon  dis- 
turbed by  tidings  that  came  from  the  prov- 
inces, the  frontiers  of  the  kingdom,  and  the 
neighboring  states  of  Europe,  that  the  Hugue- 
nots were  fleeing  from  France  by  hundreds,  and 
thousands,  and  tens  of  thousands.  The  year  of 
the  dragonnades,  in  fact,  marks  the  beginning  of 
that  exodus,  which  in  a  little  while  depleted  the 
kingdom  of  a  great  part  of  its  best  population, 
and  enriched  immensely  the  foreign  states  to 
which  the  fugitives  were  welcomed. 

Already,  from  time  to  time, — ever  since  the 
massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew's  Eve, — the 
Protestants  of  France  had  fled  to  those  countries 
in   considerable  numbers,   from   increasing  per- 

'  "Compel  them  to  come  in."  These  words,  a  horrible 
perversion  of  the  command  in  the  parable  of  the  Great 
Supper,  (Luke  xiv.,  23,)  were  often  upon  the  lips  of  the 
king  and  the  persecuting  clergy. 


THE  EXODUS. 


251 


Chap.  IV. 
1681- 
i68c. 


Expedi- 
ents 
of  the 


secutions  at  home.  The  last  of  these  emigra- 
tions had  occurred  some  fifteen  years  before, 
when  the  government  became  aware  that  its 
shipping  interests  were  suffering  seriously  in 
consequence  of  the  flight  of  so  many  of  the  sea- 
faring inhabitants  of  the  western  provinces. 
But  nothing  like  the  present  movement  had  ever 
been  witnessed.  From  every  part  of  the  king- 
dom the  report  came,  that  whole  districts  were 
depopulated,  and  that  the  industry  of  the  coun- 
try was  paralyzed. 

The  ingenuity  of  a  desperate  people  was 
taxed  to  the  utmost,  to  devise  methods  of 
escape.  "  Of  those  who  lived  near  the  sea-board,  ^^e^^^^^ 
some  would  conceal  themselves  in  bales  of 
merchandise,  or  under  loads  of  charcoal,  or 
in  empty  hogsheads.  Others  were  stowed  in 
the  holds  of  vessels,  where  they  lay  in  heaps, 
men,  women  and  children,  coming  forth  only  in 
the  dead  of  the  nii^ht  to  breathe  the  air.  Some 
would  risk  themselves  in  frail  barks,  for  a  voy- 
age, the  very  thought  of  which  would  once  have 
made  them  shudder  with  fear.  The  guards 
placed  by  the  king  to  watch  the  coast,  some- 
times became  softened,  and  found  such  oppor- 
tunities of  gain  in  favoring  the  flight  of  the 
Protestants,  that  they  even  went  so  far  as  to  as- 
sist them.  The  captains  of  cruisers,  who  had 
orders  to  intercept  any  vessels  that  might  carry 
fugitives,  themselves  conveyed  great  numbers 
of  them  out  of  the  kingdom  :  and  in  almost 
every  sea-port,  the  admiralty  officers,  tempted 
by  the  profits  which  the  shipmasters  shared  with 


'■■r' '. ' 


I  If 


II 


'If 


252       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

chap^iv.  them,  allowed  many  persons  to  pass,  whose 
1681-  hiding  pkices  they  would  not  have  found  it  very 
1685.  difficult  to  discover.  There  were  families  that 
paid  from  four  to  six  or  eight  thousand  livrcs 
for  their  escape.  The  same  thing  occurred  on 
the  landward  side  of  the  kingdom.  Persons 
stationed  to  guard  the  roads  and  passages, 
would  furnish  guides,  at  a  certain  price,  to  those 
whom  they  had  been  instructed  to  arrest,  and 
would  even  serve  in  this  capacity  themselves.  As 
Fiiffiit  ^*^^  such  as  could  not  avail  themselves  of  these 
by  sea  advantages,  for  want  of  skill  or  lack  of  means, 
land,  they  contrived  a  thousand  ways  to  elude  the 
vigilance  of  the  countless  sentinels  appointed  to 
prevent  their  flight.  Often  they  disguised 
themselves  as  peasants,  driving  cattle  before 
them,  or  carrying  bundles,  as  if  on  their  way  to 
some  market  ;  or  as  soldiers,  returning  to  their 
garrison  in  some  town  of  Holland  or  Germany  ; 
or  as  servants,  in  the  livery  of  their  masters. 
Never  before  had  there  been  seen  so  many 
merchants,  called  by  pressing  business  into  for- 
eign parts.  But  where  no  such  expedients 
were  practicable,  the  fugitives  betook  them- 
selves to  unfrequented  and  difificult  roads  ;  they 
traveled  by  night  only ;  they  crossed  the  rivers 
by  fords  scarcely  known,  or  unused  because  of 
danger  ;  they  spent  the  day  in  forests  and  in  cav- 
erns, or  concealed  in  barns  and  in  haystacks. 
Women  resorted  to  the  same  artifices  with  the 
men,  and  fled  under  all  sorts  of  disguises.  They 
dressed  themselves  as  servants,  as  peasants,  as 
nurses.     They  trundled  wheelbarrows,  they  car- 


THE  COLLAPSE. 


253 


ried    hods,    they   bore   burdens.     They    passed  ciiap^iv. 
themselves    off   as   the   wives   of  their  guides.     1681- 
They  dressed  in  men's  clothes,  and  followed  on     ,685. 
foot  as  lackeys,  while  their  guides  rode  on  horse- 
back, as  persons  of  quality.      Men   and  women 
disguised  themselves  as  mendicants,  and  passed 
through   the  places  where  they  were  most  ex- 
posed to  suspicion,  in  tattered  garments,  begging 
their  bread  from  door  to  door."' 

The  strain  was  too  great ;  and  it  had  been  kept 
up  too  long.  The  Huguenots  had  renounced 
their  dream  of  political  power.  For  years  past, 
their  anxiety  had  been  to  escape  so  far  as  possi- 
ble the  notice  of  statesmen  and  of  parties,  and 
in  obscurity  lead  quiet  and  peaceable  lives  in 
all  godliness  and  honesty.  But  their  very  sub- 
missiveness  and  loyalty  had  been  misinterpreted. 
The  priest-ridden  king  conceived  that  nothing 
more  was  needed,  for  the  subjection  of  these 
obdurate  heretics  to  the  religion  of  the  state, 
than  the  increase  of  penalties  and  hardships. 
The  clergy  were  confident  that  the  tame  and 
ignorant  peasantry  would  yield,  as  so  many  of 
the  high-born  and  cultured  had  done,  under  the 
pressure  of  the  royal  command.  Many  did 
yield  outwardly  ;  though  it  may  well  be  doubted 
if,  of  all  the  conversions  brought  about  by  the 
Infliction  of  legal  disabilities,  and  the  brutalities 
of  the  dragonnades,  a  single  one  was  sincere. 
But  many,  of  more  heroic  mold,  resisted  every 


\ 


M 


t  ; 


'  Benoist,  Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  tome  troisi^me, 
seconde  partie.     Pp.  948-954. 


m 


'i'  ii 


Chap.  IV. 
1681- 
1685. 


Doors 

of 
Escape. 


July 

28, 

1681. 


254       APPROACH  OF  THE  REVOCATION. 

effort  to  detach  them  from  their  faith.  And 
multitudes  who  had  yielded  outwardly,  or 
who  succeeded  in  evading  punishment,  were 
not  less  ea^jfer  than  their  more  couraofeous 
brethren  to  fly  from  the  country,  and  seek 
refuge  in   Protestant  lands. 

Doors  of  escape  opened  speedily  to  the  suf- 
ferers. England,  where  so  many  of  their  per- 
secuted countrymen  had  for  generations  found 
an  asylum,  was  foremost  in  its  offers  of  hospi- 
tality. The  British  envoy  resident  in  Paris 
kept  his  government  informed  of  the  measures 
taken  by  Louis  XIV.  against  his  Reformed 
subjects,  and  warmly  urged  the  king  to  plead 
their  cause.  The  "  terrible  edict"  of  June,  1681, 
at  lengtli  decided  Charles  II.  to  this  step. 
The  very  next  month,  a  royal  proclamation  was 
issued,  promising  letters  of  denization  under 
the  Great  Seal  of  Enoland  to  all  "distressed 
Protestants,"  "  who  by  rearon  of  the  rigors  and 
severities  which  are  used  towards  them  upon 
the  account  of  their  relicfion,  shall  be  forced  to 
quit  their  native  country,  and  shall  desire  to 
shelter  themselves  under  his  Majesty's  royal 
protection,  for  the  preservation  and  free  exer- 
cise of  their  reli<rion. '  The  refugees  were 
assured  that  they  should  enjoy  all  such  further 
privileges  and  immunities  as  miglit  be  consistent 
with  the  laws,  for  the  free  exercise  of  their 
trades  and  handicrafts ;  and  that  an  Act  would 
be  introduced  at  the  next  meeting  of  Parlia- 
ment, for  the  nacuralizatlon  of  all  such  Protest- 
ants as  should  come  over.     No  heavier  duties 


ENGLAND'S  WELCOME. 


255 


should  be  imposed  upon  them  than  i.pon  his 
Majesty's  natural-born  subjects  ;  and  equal  ad- 
vantages with  those  enjoyed  by  native  subjects 
should  be  <>iven  them  for  the  entrance  of  their 
children  into  the  scnools  and  colleges  of  the 
realm. 

To  render  these  liberal  provisions  effective,  it 
was  ordered,  that  such  Protestants  should  be 
suffered  to  pass  the  customs  free  of  all  duties, 
with  their  goods  and  household  stuff,  tools  and 
instruments  of  trade  ;  and  that  all  his  Majesty's 
officers,  both  civil  and  military,  should  give 
them  kind  reception  upon  their  arrival  within 
any  of  the  ports  of  the  realm,  furnish  them  with 
free  passports,  and  grant  them  all  assistance 
and  furtherance  in  their  journeys  to  the  places 
whitlier  they  might  desire  to  go.  Finally,  the 
royal  proclamation  ordered  that  collections  be 
made  throughout  the  kingdom,  to  provide  relief 
for  such  of  the  refugees  as  miofht  stand  in  need 
thereof :  and  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and 
the  Bishop  of  London  were  appointed  to  receive 
any  requests  or  petitions  which  the  refugees 
might  wish  upon  their  arrival  to  present  to  the 
king. 

Holland  did  not  linger  far  behind  its  Protest- 
ant neighbor  in  overtures  of  hospitality  to  the 
oppressed  Huguenots.  In  September  of  the 
same  year,  the  magistrates  of  Amsterdam 
offered  them  the  rights  of  citizenship  and  the 
privileges  of  trade,  and  the  States-General  an- 
nounced that  all  who  should  settle  in  their 
territory  would   be  exempted   for  the  space  of 


Chap.  IV. 

1681. 


The 

Boyal 

Bounty. 


Other 

overtures. 

September 
24. 


i'i   i 


\ 


256       APPROACH  OF  THE    REVOCATION. 

chap^iv.  twelve  years  from  the  payment  of  taxes.  The 
1681.  Lutheran  king  of  Denmark  was  equally  prompt 
and  liberal  in  promises  of  protection  and  ex- 
emption ;  and  the  Protestant  cantons  of  Switzer- 
land were  not  slow  to  testify  their  sympathy 
with  their  persecuted  brethren,  and  invite  them 
to  take  refuge  within  their  borders. 

A  few  years  later,  upon  the  Revocation  of  the 
Edict  of  Nantes,  the  Protestant  States  of  Ger- 
many joined  in  this  movement.  No  sooner  had 
that  crowning  act  of  intolerance  and  perfidy 
The  been  proclaimed  to  the  world,  than  the  Elector 
^ft'incM?*  of  Brandenburg,  and  other  Protestant  princes, 
testified  their  indignation,  by  offering  the  pro- 
scribed Huguenots  a  home,  and  by  making  the 
amplest  provisions  for  them  within  their  domin- 
ions. 

And  still,  in  France,  the  work  of  persecution 
went  steadily  forward.  Louis  XIV.  was  carry- 
ing out  to  the  letter  the  counsels  of  his  spiritual 
advisers,  and  striving  to  make  amends  for  his 
kingly  vices  by  crushing  heresy.  To  prevent 
his  Protestant  subjects  from  quitting  the  coun- 
try, and  from  availing  themselves  of  the 
invitations  of  foreign  powers,  Louis  lays  upon 
them  his  royal  behest  to  remain  at  home — and 
be  converted.  Decree  follows  decree,  forbid- 
ding all  seamen  and  craftsmen  to  remove  with 
their  families  and  settle  themselves  in  other 
countries,  upon  pain  of  condemnation  to  the 
galleys  for  life.  His  Majesty  announces  to  his 
people  that  "an  infinite  number"  of  conversions 
are  taking  place  in  all  parts  of  the  kingdom. 


May 

18, 

1682. 


t  '  u 


THE  PERSECUTION  CONTINUES. 


257 


But  forasmuch  as  there  still  remain  some  persons 
who  not  only  stubbornly  continue  in  their  blind- 
ness, but  hinder  others  from  opening  their  eyes, 
and  prompt  them  to  leave  the  country,  thus 
adopting  a  course  opposed  to  their  salvation,  to 
their  own  interests,  and  to  the  fidelity  which 
they  owe  their  sovereign,  all  persons  who  may 
be  found  guilty  of  having  induced  others  thus  to 
remove,  shall  be  punished  by  fine  and  bodily 
inflictions. 

The  infatuation  of  Louis  XIV.  reached  its 
height,  when  in  October,  1685,  he  issued  the 
famous  decree,  proclaiming  the  success  of  the 
measures  taken  for  the  extirpation  of  heresy, 
and  announcing  the  revocation  and  suppression 
of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  Edict  of  Nismes, 
and  all  other  edicts  and  decrees  made  in  favor 
of  the  Protestants  in  his  kingdom. 

"  With  that  just  gratitude  w^hich  we  owe  to 
God,"  said  the  royal  fanatic,  "  we  now  see  that 
our  efforts  have  attained  the  end  we  have  had 
in  view  :  since  the  best  and  greatest  part  of  our 
subjects  of  that  Religion  have  embraced  the 
Catholic  Religion.  And  inasmuch  as  by  this 
means  the  execution  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  and 
of  all  other  ordinances  in  favor  of  the  said  Re- 
li*j]^ion,  remains  useless,  we  have  judged  that  we 
could  do  nothing  better,  wholly  to  efface  the 
memory  of  the  troubles,  the  confusion  and  the 
evils  which  the  progress  of  that  false  Religion 
had  caused  in  our  realm,  and  which  had  driven 
occasion  to  that  Edict,  and  to  so  many  other 
Edicts  and  Declarations  that  preceded  it,  or  that 


Chap.  IV. 

1681- 
1685. 


October 

22, 

1686. 


The 
Edict 

of 
Revoca- 
tion. 


n 


:!  m 


2:^8 


THE  REVOCATION. 


Chap.  IV.  have  resulted  from  it,  than  to  revoke  altogether 

1685,     the  said  Edict  of  Nantes." 

The  Revocation  was  but  the  finishing  stroke 
of  a  policy  that  had  been  pursued  with  marvel-  ' 
ous  steadiness  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It 
ordered  the  immediate  demolition  of  all  re- 
maining "temples"  or  places  of  worship  of  the 
Pretended  Reformed  Religion.  It  prohibited 
the  religionists  from  assembling  in  any  house  or 
locality  whatsoever,  for  the  exercises  of  that 
religion.  Ministers  of  the  said  Religion  were 
commanded,  if  unwilling  to  embrace  the  Cath- 
olic faith,  to  leave  the  kingdom  within  fifteen 
days  after  the  publication  of  the  present  PMict, 
Provisions  and  meanwhile  to  perform    no  function  of  their 

Edict,  office,  under  penalty  of  the  galleys.  Private 
schools  for  the  instruction  of  children  of  the 
said  Religion  were  prohibited,  "as  well  as  all 
things  in  general  that  might  denote  any  con- 
cession whatsoever  in  favor  of  th»j  said  Relioion." 
Parents  were  commanded,  under  heavy  penalties, 
to  send  their  infant  children  to  the  parish  churches 
for  baptism.  All  persons  professing  the  said 
Religion  were  "  most  expressly  "  forbidden  to 
leave  the  kingdom,  under  penalty  of  the  galleys 
for  the  men,  and  of  imprisonment  and  the  confisca- 
tion of  goods  for  the  women.  Such  as  had  already 
left,  were  invited  to  return  within  four  months, 
with  the  promise  of  liberty  to  resume  the  peace- 
able possession  and  enjoyment  of  their  property: 
but  should  any  fail  thus  to  return,  all  their  goods 
would  be  confiscated.  Finally,  it  would  be  law- 
ful for  all  his  Majesty's  subjects  to  remain  within 


XT 


VERDICT  OF  POSTERITY. 


259 


his  kingdom,  and  to  continue  in  their  callings,  chap.  iv. 
and  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  goods,  unmolested  1685. 
and  unhindered,  until  such  time  as  it  might 
please  God  to  enlighten  them  as  He  had  en- 
lightened the  others  :  on  condition  that  they  per- 
form no  exercise  of  their  preimded  Religion,  nor 
assemble  themselves  under  pretext  of  the 
prayers  or  worship  of  that  Religion. 

Such  was  the  purport  of  the  document  which 
amazed  Europe  two  centuries  ago,  and  which 
continues  to  amaze  mankind.  The  impartial 
judgment  of  the  age,  and  of  posterity,  upon  this 
stupendous  act  of  despotism  and  bigotry,  has 
perhaps  never  been  better  expressed  than  in 
the  words  ot  a  Roman  Catholic  cotemporary,  a 
courtier  of  Louis  XIV.,  the  Duke  of  Saint 
Simon  : 

"  The  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  with- 
out the  slightest  pretext,  or  the  least  necessity, 
as  well  as  the  various  proclamations,  or  rather 
proscriptions,  that  followed,  were  the  fruits  of 
that  horrible  conspiracy  which  depopulated  a 
fourth  pan  of  the  kingdom,  ruined  its  trade, 
weakened  it  throughout,  surrendered  it  for  so 
long  a  time  to  open  and  avowed  pillage  by  the 
dragoons,  and  authorized  the  torments  and 
sufferings  by  means  of  which  they  procured  the 
death  of  so  many  persons  of  both  sexes  and  by 
thousands  together.  A  plot  that  brought  ruin 
upon  so  great  a  body  of  people,  that  tore 
asunder  countless  families,  arraying  relatives 
against  relatives,  for  the  purpose  of  getting  pos- 
session of  their  goods,  whereupon  they  left  them 


'  i 


260 


THE  REVOCATION. 


Chap.  IV.  to  starve.  A  plot  that  caused  our  manufactures 
1685.  to  pass  over  into  the  hands  of  foreigners,  made 
their  states  to  flourish  and  grow  populous  at 
the  expense  of  our  own,  and  enabled  them  to 
build  new  cities.  A  plot  that  presented  to  the 
nations  the  spectacle  of  so  vast  a  multitude  of 
people,  who  had  committed  no  crime,  proscribed, 
denuded,  fleeing,  wandering,  seeking  an  asylum 
afar  from  their  country.  A  plot  that  consigned 
the  noble,  the  wealthy,  the  aged,  those  highly  es- 
teemed, in  many  cases,  for  their  piety,  their  learn- 
ing, their  virtue,  those  accustomed  to  a  life  of 
ease,  frail,  delicate,  to  hard  labor  in  the  galleys, 
under  the  driver's  lash,  and  for  no  reason  save 
that  of  their  religion.  A  plot  that,  to  crown  all 
other  horrors,  filled  every  province  of  the  king- 
dom with  perjury  and  sacrilege  ;  inasmuch  as 
while  the  land  rang  with  the  cries  of  these  unhap- 
py victims  of  error,  so  many  others  sacrificed 
their  consciences  for  their  worldly  goods  and 
their  comfort,  purchasing  both  by  means  of 
feigned  recantations  ;  recantations  from  the  vcrv 
act  of  which  they  were  dragged,  without  a 
moment's  interval,  to  adore  what  they  did  not 
believe  in,  and  to  receive  what  was  really  the 
divine  Body  of  the  Most  Holy  One,  while 
they  still  remained  convinced  that  they  were 
eating  nothing  but  bread,  and  bread  which 
they  were  in  duty  bound  to  abhor.  Such  was 
the  general  abomination  begotten  of  flattery 
and  cruelty.  Between  the  rack  and  recantation, 
between  recantation  and  the  Holy  Communion, 
it  did   not  often  happen  that  four  and  twenty 


•^^^^^^^mi^mmmmi't^Him. 


mmm 


7m^-- 


II 


THE  REVOCATION. 


261 


hours    intervened  :    and    the    torturers   served  chap  iv 
as   conductors  and    as   witnesses.     Those  who     .gt  " 
seemed  afterwards  to   make   the   change   with 
greater  dehberation,  were  not  slow  to  belie  their 
pretended  conversion,  by  the  tenor  of  their  lives, 
or  by  fiight." 


4  i 

1     i 


,y 


!    5 


Chap.  7. 
1681- 
1685. 


CHAPTER  V. 

The    Revocation. 

flight  from  la  rochelle  and  aunis. 

That  part  of  western  France  that  lies  be- 
tween the  Loire  and  Gironde  rivers — comprising 
anciently  the  seaboard  provinces  of  Poitou,  Sain- 
tonge,  and  Aunis — was  inhabited,  at  the  period 
of  the  Revocation,  by  a  population  largely  Prot- 
estant. These  provinces  had  been  early  visited 
by  zealous  disciples  of  Calvin.  Poitiers,  the  prin- 
cipal town  of  Poitou,  gave  shelter  to  the  great 
reformer  himself,  for  some  months  in  the  begin- 
ning of  his  career  ;  and  a  few  young  men  whom 
Calvin's    he  gathered  around  him  then,  and  who  caught 

disciples.    ,  .      >•  .    .  ,  .,  ,    .  1       o      • 

his  fervent  spirit  while  studying  the  Scriptures 
with  him,  went  forth  to  carry  the  new  doctrines 
into  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  country.  No- 
where else  in  France  did  the  Reformation  take 
a  readier  and  a  firmer  hold.  By  the  time  of  the 
outbreak  of  the  first  civil  war,  there  were  many 
parishes  where  the  mass  of  the  people  had  em- 
braced the   Reformed   faith,'  and   the  churches 

'  "  Un  grand  nombre  de  paroisses  [surtout  surlesbords  de 
la  Sevre-Niortaise  et  de  ses  affluents,  et,  dans  le  Bas-Poitoii, 
sur  ceux  du  Lay,]  etaient  presque  entierement  protestantes 
a  I'ouverture  des  guerres  civiles." — Histoire  des  Protestants 
et  des  eglises  reformees  du  Poitou,  par  Auguste  Lievre,  pas- 
teur.     Paris  et  Poitiers,  1856.     Tome  I.,  page  100. 


? 


I  ■  ■  ' 


THE  SEABOARD  PROVINCES. 


263 


were  either  closed,  or  transformed  into  Protest-   chap^v. 
ant  "  temples."  '  1562. 

Persecution,  during  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV., 
greatly  weakened  the  strength  of  the  Reformed 
religion  in  these  provinces.  Yet  it  was  still  suf- 
ficient to  justify  the  king  in  choosing  them  for 
the  scene  of  that  species  of  warfare  upon  his 
Protestant  subjects,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  he 
found  most  effectual  in  accomplishing  forced 
conversions.  It  was  in  Poitou  that  th(?  dragon- 
nades  were  initiated  by  Marillac,  the  governor 
of  the  province  :  and  thence  they  soon  spread 
into  Saintonge  and  Aunis. 

A    special    interest    belongc    to    this   part    of 
P" ranee,  as  the  home  of  very  many  of  the  refu- 
gees who  fled  at  the  period  of  the  Revocation,     Home 
and  who  ultimately  made  their  way  to  America.  American 
It  will  be  seen  in   the  following-  paees  that   a    Hugue- 
large  proportion  of  the   Huguenot  families  that 
came  by  way  of  England  and  Holland  to  Boston, 
New  York,  Jamestown,  and  Charleston,  in  the 
last  years   of  the  seventeenth  century,  can   be 
tra.ced  back  to   the  towns  and   villages  of  the 
country  between   the   Loire  and   the    Gironde. 
The    present   chapter   will   give   the  results  of 
investigations  made  in  this  direction. 

Aunis,  the  smallest  of  the  thirty-three  prov- 
inces into  which  the  Kingdom  of  P" ranee  was  at 

'  "  In  Poitou  they  have  almost  all,"  wrote  a  traveler,  pre- 
sumed to  be  Sir  Edwin  Sandys,  about  the  year  1599. --Eu- 
ropae  Speculum,  1599.  P.  i']'^.  He  adds  that  on  the 
whole  the  proportion  of  Protestants  to  the  Roman  Catholics 
in  France  is,  however,  "not  one  to  twentie." 


'■  I  i.j 


264 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Terre 
d'Aonis. 


Chap.  V.  that  time  divided,  may  be  called  emphatically 
1681-  the  birthplace  of  American  Huguenots.  Aunis, 
jgg-  indeed,  could  scarcely  be  dignified  with  the 
name  and  rank  of  a  province.  It  was  a  part 
of  Saintonge,  which  had  been  cut  off  from  that 
province,  and  appended  to  the  city  of  La  Ro- 
chelle,  in  the  fourteenth  century,  as  a  reward  for 
the  fidelity  of  the  citizens  to  King  Charles  the 
Wise,  during  his  wars  with  the  English.  This 
little  district,  commonly  styled  "  terre  d'Aunis," 
or  "pays  d'Aunis,"  contained  only  some  seven 
hundred  square  miles,  and  was  scarcely  more 
than  a  suburb  of  its  great  seaport  La  Rochelle. 
which  had  been  the  stronghold  of  the  Protestants 
in  France  for  nearly  seventy  years,  and  which, 
though  now  dismantled,  and  spoiled  of  its  ancient 
honors,  was  still  the  home  of  many  of  their 
wealthiest  and  most  influential  families. 

La  Rochelle  boasted  a  glorious  history.  For 
almost  five  centuries,  the  city  enjoyed  commer- 
cial and  municipal  privileges  of  an  extraordinary 
character.  Royal  charters,  confirmed  by  succes- 
sive kinors,  secured  to  the  citizens  the  riijht  of 
electing  their  mayor  and  other  magistrates 
every  year,  and  exempted  them  from  all  taxes 
and  imposts.  These  distinguishing  advantages 
had  been  granted  not  without  reason.  The 
Rochellese  were  always  noted  for  their  loy- 
alty to  the  crown  of  France,  and  for  the  valua- 
ble services  they  rendered  to  the  state  under 
several  reigns.  One  of  the  most  remarkable 
recognitions  of  this  fidelity  was  made  by  the 
king  already  mentioned,  who  conferred  nobility 


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A  GLORIOUS  HISTORY. 


265 


1542- 
1548. 


upon  the  mayor  and  magistrates  of  the  city  then   chap.v. 
in  office,  and  upon  their  successors  forever.  ,T^, 

But  the  proudest  recollections  of  the  Rochel- 
lese  dated  from  the  period  of  the  Reformation. 
Their  city  had  early  welcomed  the  "  new  doc- 
trines" preached  by  Calvin's  disciples.  Among 
the  first  to  embracvi  the  evangelical  faith  were 
some  of  the  monks  and  priests.  Not  a  few  of 
the  nuns  left  their  cloisters,  to  enter  a  state  of 
life  which,  as  they  now  learned.  Holy  Scripture 
declared  to  be  honorable  in  all.  The  book- 
sellers and  the  schoolmasters  of  the  town  helped 
to  spread  the  teachings  of  the  reformers.  Per- 
secution only  increased  the  strength  of  the 
movement ;  and  at  length,  so  general  had  the 
change  of  religion  become,  that  the  Reformed, 
tired  of  holding  their  crowded  assemblies  in 
private  houses  or  in  halls,  claimed  the  right  to 
meet  in  the  churches.  For  a  while  this  right 
was  accorded  to  them,  and  Protestants  and 
Romanists  worshiped  in  the  same  sanctuaries, 
the  one  congregation  gathering  together  as  the 
other  dispersed.  So  perfect  was  the  harmony 
with  which  this  arrangement  was  carried  out, 
that  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  priests  of  the  ootober 
church  of  St.  Sauveur,  being  requested  to  com- 
mence their  services  at  an  earlier  hour,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  Protestants,  consented  to 
do  so,  and  agreed  to  begin  matins  a  little 
before  daybreak,  upon  condition  that  they  should 
be  compensated  for  the  use  of  extra  lights. 
This  happy  state  of  things,  however,  lasted  but 
a  few  months.     The  religionists  were  compelled 


i4  !l 

"  '  '    '■I 


1661. 


S5. 


;66 


LA  POCHELLE. 


Kovember 

1572 

to 

July  10, 

1573. 


Chap.  V.  to  return  to  their  former  places  of  meeting,  and 
1^62.     soon  after,  the  "  Edict  of  January"  required  them 
January  ^°    ^^^*^    their   assemblies    outside    of   the    city 
^'-       walls. 

In  the  course  of  the  civil  wars  that  followed, 
La  Rochelle  became  the  rallying  point  and  the 
citadel  of  the  Huguenot  party.  The  vigilance 
of  its  citizens  saved  them  from  sharing  in  the 
massacre  that  commenced  in  Paris  on  St.  Bar- 
tholomew's day  ;  and  their  heroic  bravery  and 
constancy  enabled  them  to  resist  the  assaults  of 
the  royal  army,  for  nine  months,  during  the 
memorable  siege  of  1573.  In  the  next  fifty 
years,  the  city  reached  the  height  of  its  pros;- 
perity  and  renown.  Famous  for  the  strength  of 
its  fortifications,  the  extent  of  its  commerce,  the 
wealth  of  its  merchants,  the  intelligence  and 
morality  of  its  people,  La  Rochelle  was  the 
pride  of  French  Protestantism.  Its  "Grand 
Temple,"  the  corner-stone  of  which  had  been 
1677.  laid  by  Henry,  Prince  of  Conde,  was  crowded 
with  vast  congregations,  that  hung  upon  the 
earnest  and  fearless  eloquence  of  the  most 
learned  and  able  pastors  of  the  Reformed 
Church.  During  the  greater  part  of  this 
period,  no  other  worship  than  that  prescribed 
by  the  evangelical  faith  was  performed  within 
the  city  walls  ;  and  at  the  time  of  the  publica- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  Roman  mass 
had  not  been  said  in  La  Rochelle  for  nearly 
forty  years. 

Astir  with  political  interests,  holding  its  im- 
portance and  its  independence  only  by  means  of 


THE  SECOND  SIEGE. 


267 


perpetual  watchfulness,  La  Rochelle  was  at  the  chap.  v. 
same  time  a  center  of  intelligence  for  the  Prot-  1565. 
estants  of  France.  Its  college,  founded  in 
1565,  and  endowed  by  Jeanne  d'Albret  and  the 
princes,  drew  to  itself  some  of  the  most  emi- 
nent scholars  of  the  age.  Its  printing  presses 
were  noted  for  their  incessant  activity,  and  for 
the  rare  excellence  of  many  of  their  produc- 
tions. La  Rochelle  was  chosen  for  the  holding 
of  several  of  the  national  assemblies  of  the 
Huguenot  party,  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  assem- 
blies of  the  Reformed  churches,  A  free  and 
vigorous  intellectual  life  pervaded  the  place, 
quickened  by  the  very  anxieties  and  appre- 
hensions that  equally  prevailed.' 

With  its  second  and  still  more  terrible  siege, 
the  period  of  the  city's  independence  and  chief 
importance  came  to  an  end.  In  punishment  for  November 
the  stubborn  resistance  offered  to  his  armies,  ^' 
and  in  testimony  of  his  displeasure  with  a  popu- 
lace "  whose  rebellions  had  been  the  main  stay 
and  spring  of  the  great  wars  that  had  so  long 

'  A  notable  illustration  may  be  quoted  from  the  historian 
Arcfere:  "  In  the  midst  of  the  troubles  of  the  war,  [1574,]  pub- 
lic entertainments  were  given  in  La  Rochelle.  A  tragedy, 
entitled  Holofernes,  was  represented.  The  author  of  this 
dramatic  poem  was  Catharine  de  Parthenai,  afterwards  so 
well  known  under  the  name  of  the  Duchess  of  Rohan.  In 
this  lady,  the  graces  of  a  fine  literary  taste  were  blended 
with  learning,  and  intellectual  talent  was  enhanced  by  a 
heroic  courage.  It  was  she  who  was  seen  alone  to  stand  firm 
upon  the  ruins  of  her  defeated  party,  after  the  reduction  of 
La  Rochelle  in  1628,  and  proudly  to  endure  so  conspicuous 
a  reverse  of  fortune." — Histoire  de  la  ville  de  la  Rochelle 
et  du  pays  d'Aulnis,  par  M.  Arc^re.  A  la  Rochelle, 
MDCCLVI.     Tome  I.,  page  568. 


¥ 


i 


August 

16, 
1627, 


268 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  V 
1628. 


It! 

^litioal 


ance 
oeases. 


afflicted  the  state,"  Louis  XIII.  ordered  the 
complete  destruction  of  those  fortifications 
which  had  baffled  the  utmost  skill  of  his 
soldiers  and  engineers.  "  It  is  our  will " — so 
ran  the  royal  decree — "  that  they  be  razed  to  the 
ground,  in  such  wise  that  the  plow  may  pass 
through  the  soil  even  as  through  tilled  land." 
The  special  privileges  and  dignities  which  the 
town  had  enjoyed  for  so  many  centuries  were 
abrogated  ;  and  the  "  Grand  Temple  "  of  the 
Protestants  was  converted  into  a  cathedral 
church. 

From  this  downfall.  La  Rochelle  never  recov- 
m^rt-  ered,  as  a  place  of  political  and  military  conse- 
quence. Yet  it  continued  to  be,  for  many  years, 
a  fountain-head  of  moral  and  religious  influences 
for  the  Huguenots  of  France  ;  —  their  **  western 
Geneva "  ;  — and  long  remained  exempt  from 
many  of  the  inflictions  to  which  the  Prot- 
estants were  exposed  elsewhere  in  the  king- 
dom, under  that  repressive  course  which 
the  government  had  already  entered  upon  in 
its  treatment  of  them.  But  in  1 661,  an  old 
provision  of  the  royal  decree  for  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  city  after  the  siege,  hitherto  un- 
executed, was  brought  to  notice,  and  carried 
into  effect.  This  article  prohibited  all  persons 
professing  the  Pretended  Reformed  Religion 
from  being  admitted  as  inhabitants  of  La  Ro- 
chelle, unless  they  had  resided  there  previously, 
and  before  the  landing  of  the  English  forces 
under  Buckingham,  sent  to  relieve  the  city 
in  July,  1627.     The  article  was  now  confirmed 


•f  aBttsaessi^S-rfiSi:'  wtaaK-ir:?. 


RUTHLESS  EJECTION. 


269 


by  a  civil  ordinance,  and  in  the  month  of  Ch>p.  v. 
November  it  was  proclaimed  with  sound  of  1661. 
trumpet  through  the  streets  of  La  Rochelle. 
Fifteen  days  were  allowed  to  those  whom  it  HoTembwr. 
might  concern,  for  their  removal  from  within  the 
city  limits ;  and  warning  was  given,  that  in 
case  of  disobedience  they  would  incur  a  heavy 
fine,  to  be  enforced  if  necessary  by  means  of 
distraint  and  public  sale  of  their  effects.  These 
tidings  were  heard  with  consternation.  Many 
persons  had  come  to  reside  in  La  Rochelle 
within  the  last  thirty-three  years.  Many  remem- 
bered no  other  home.  They  were  bound  to  the 
place  by  countless  ties  of  interest,  of  habit  and 
of  affection.  Notwithstanding,  more  than  three 
hundred  families  obeyed  the  order.  Exemption, 
it  was  well  understood,  could  be  purchased  by  a 
change  of  religion :  for  the  decree  applied  only 
to  the  Protestant  inhabitants.  But  the  tempting 
bait  was  refused.  Yet  the  inconveniences  of 
removal  were  very  great.  The  season  was  most 
unfavorable.  Rain  fell  in  torrents  for  three 
consecutive  weeks.  Some,  however,  took  their 
departure  immediately :  while  others  lingered, 
hoping  for  better  weather,  and  a  possible  exten- 
sion of  time.  No  extension  was  granted.  The 
fortnight  ended,  the  order  was  sternly  executed. 
Deputy-sheriffs  entered  private  houses,  and 
levied  upon  the  furniture,  putting  out  into  the 
street  whatever  they  did  not  seize.  The  dis- 
possessed inmates  were  turned  adrift.  Children 
in  their  cradles,  women  in  child-birth,  the  aged, 
the  sick  and  bed-ridden,  were  pitilessly  ejected. 


270 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  Y. 
1661. 


Aagnst 

1$, 
1662. 


Many  died  in  the  officers'  hands  :  while  others 
lived  barely  long  enough  to  be  carried  out  into 
the  country  by  their  friends." 

The  archives  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts contain  an  interesting  memorial  of  this 
expulsion,  in  the  petition  of  John  Touton,  doc- 
tor chirurgeon,  of  Rochelle  in  France,  in  behalf 
of  himself  and  others.  The  petitioners  repre- 
sent that  they  "are,  for  their  religion  sake, 
outed  and  expelled  from  their  habitations  and 
dwellings  in  Rochelle  aforesaid,"  and  they  ask 
"  that  they  might  have  so  much  favor  from  the 
government  here,  as  in  some  pleasure  to  be  cer- 
tain of  their  residence  here  before  they  under- 
take the  voyage."  If  encouraged,  they  will 
"  seek  to  dispose  of  their  estates  of  Rochelle, 
where  they  may  not  have  any  longer  continu- 
ance." "^     A    list   of    the    persons    making    this 


'  Histoire  de  TEdit  de  Nantes.  [Par  E)ie  Benoist.]  Tome 
troisifeme,  premiere  partie,  pp.  431-434. 

'  "  To  the  honoured  Governor,  deputy  Governor  and 
Maiistrates  of  the  Massachusetts  Colonie — The  petition  of 
John  Touton  of  Rochell  in  France,  Doctor  Chirurgion,  in 
behalfe  of  himselfe  and  others.  Humbly  shewing,  that 
whereas  your  petitioner  with  many  other  protestants,  who 
are  inhabitants  in  the  said  Rotchell,  (a  list  of  whose  names 
was  given  to  the  said  honoured  Govnr)  who  are,  for  their 
religion  sake,  outted  and  expelled  from  their  habitations  and 
dwellings  in  Rotchell  aforesaid,  he,  your  said  petitioner 
humbly  craveth,  for  himselfe  and  others  as  aforesd,  that  they 
may  have  liberty  to  come  heather,  here  to  inhabit  and  abide 
amongst  the  English  in  this  Jurisdiction,  and  to  follow  such 
honest  indeavours  &  ymploymts,  as  providence  hath  or  shall 
direct  them  unto,  whereby  they  may  get  a  livelihood  and 
that  they  might  have  so  much  favour  from  the  Govmt 
here,  as  in  some  measure  to  be  certayne  of  their  residence 
here  before  they  undertake  the  voyage,  and  what  priviledges 


EMIGRANTS  TO  AMERICA. 


271 


Jean 
Toaton. 


request  was  sent  to  Governor  Endicott  along  Chap,  v, 
with  the  petition.  Unhappily,  that  list  has  dis-  1662. 
appeared  ;  so  that  we  have  no  means  of  learning 
either  the  number  or  the  names  of  the  petition- 
ers. That  some  of  them  carried  out  their  pur- 
pose, is  certain.  Jean  Touton  himself  is  known 
to  have  come  to  this  couii  ry  shortly  after:'  and 
we  find  that  about  tne  same  time,  a  shipmaster 
of  La  Rochelle  '  was  arrested  under  the 
charge  of  having  received  emigrants  bound 
for  the  English  colonies  in  America  on  board 
his    vessel.      Some  of   these,    it    is    more  than 

they  may  expect  here  to  have,  that  so  accordingly  as  they 
find  incoridgmt  for  further  progress  herein,  they  may  dis- 
pose of  their  estates  of  Rotchell,  where  they  may  not  have 
any  longer  continuance.  Thus  humbly  craveing  you  would 
be  pleased  to  consider  of  the  premisses,  and  your  petitioner 
shall  forever  pray  for  your  happinesse." 

15  (8)  1662  The  Deputyes  thinke  meete  to  graunt  this 
pet.  our  honble  magistes  consenting  thereto.  William  Torrey. 

Consented  to  by  ye  magists.  Edw:  Rawson  Secret,  cleric. 
(Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol.  X.,  p.  208.) 

'  John  Toton  [Touton]  petitioned  the  General  Court  of 
Massachusetts,  June  29,  1687,  showing  that  he  had  "  ever 
since  the  year  1662  been  an  Inhabitant  in  the  Territory  of 
his  Majesty."  He  was  a  free  denizen  of  Virginia  "by  my 
Lord  of  Effingham's  favour,"  and  was  now  bound  to  the 
island  of  Terceira  on  business  for  one  William  Fisher  in 
Virginia.  Learning  "  that  all  severity  is  used  against  French 
Protestants  in  that  Island,"  he  asks  for  letters  representing 
him  as  an  Englishman. — (Massachusetts  Archives,  Vol. 
CXXVI.,  p.  374.) 

Touton  was  living  in  Rehoboth,  Mass.,  in  1675. — (A 
Genealogical  Dictionary  of  the  First  Settlers  of  New  En- 
gland, by  James  Savage.) 

"  One  Brunet,  a  shipmaster  of  La  Rochelle,  who  had  em- 
barked thirty-six  young  men  for  America.  Presuming  that 
they  had  been  sent  to  the  English  islands  [or  colonies]  in 
order  to  prevent  their  conversion  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
faith,  the  judges   of  La   Rochelle   condemned  Brunet  to  a 


272 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  ▼. 
1663. 


April  16. 


January 

24, 

1664. 


Aogost 


probable,  made  their  way  to  the  city  of  New 
Amsterdam,  where  many  of  their  Protestant 
brethren  had  already  found  a  home.  The  direc- 
tors of  the  West  India  Company  at  Amsterdam 
informed  Governor  Stuyvesant,  in  the  spring  of 
the  year  1663,  that  they  had  "been  approached 
in  the  name  of  the  Protestant  people  of  Ro- 
chelle,"  who  were  "considerably  oppressed  and 
deprived  of  their  privileges."  Subser  lent  letters 
instructed  him  to  prepare  for  the  com^  g  of  many 
families  of  the  Reformed  religion,  not  only  from 
La  Rochelle,  St.  Martin,  and  the  surrounding 
district,  but  from  many  other  places  in  France 
also,  where  the  churches,  it  was  thought,  would 
soon  be  demolished.  The  governor  was  com- 
manded "  in  all  things  to  lend  the  helping  hand  " 
to  these  worthy  refugees.  From  Stuyvesant's 
reply,  it  appears  that  several  of  the  emigrants 
from  France  had  reached  New  Amsterdam. 
Among  them  was  a  certain  Jean  Collyn,  who 
was  about  to  return  to  France  on  one  of  the 
Company's  vessels,  that  he  might  make  report 
of  the  country  to  others.  The  colonists  already 
arrived   were    particularly   pleased  with  Staten 


fine  of  one  thousard  pounds,  and  "  exemplary  punishment," 
unless  he  should  produce  these  persons  within  a  year,  or 
give  satisfactory  proof  of  their  decease,  or  of  their  volun- 
tary residence  in  some  one  of  the  French  colonies.  The 
Chamber  of  the  Edi;-t  reversed  this  decision  :  but  the 
Council  re-affirmed  it,  on  the  ground  that  there  was 
reason  to  fear  that  the  young  men  might  be  confirmed  in 
the  profession  of  the  Pretended  Reformed  Religion,  should 
they  remain  in  the  English  colonies." — (Histoire  chronolo- 
gique  de  I'Eglise  Protestante  de  France,  par  Charles  Drion. 
Tome  II.,  p.  72.) 


■  '1 J 

..11 


HOMES  OF  THE  ROCHELLESE. 


273 


1661- 
1681. 


Island,  where  they  proposed  to  settle  :  and  they    chap.v 
had  hopes  that  the  minister  of  St.  Martin  might     1664. 
he  induced  to  come  over,  and  undertake  the  pas- 
toral office  among  them.' 

I'or  the  next  twenty  years.  La  Rochelle, 
though  sharing  in  many  of  the  oppressions 
which  Protestantism  throughout  France  was 
experiencing,  continued  to  enjoy  some  distinct- 
ive privileges.  Its  "temple"  remained  standing, 
when  nearly  every  other  Protestant  house  of  wor- 
ship in  the  province  was  laid  low.  Its  Protest- 
ant population  was  still  large  and  influential  ; 
and  many  of  the  most  affluent  families  of  "the 
Religion"  were  still  to  be  found  in  this  ancient 
home  of  Calvinism :  a  home  all  the  dearer, 
doubtless,  because  of  the  memories,  sad  as  well 
as  glorious,  that  enriched  it. 

The  descendant  of  the   Huguenots  who  may    streets 
visit  La  Rochelle  at  the  present  day,  will  find  a       ^ 
city  possessing  not  a  few  of  the  characteristic   BociieWe 
features   that  were   familiar    to  the   generation 
that     fled    from    it    two     centuries    ago.     The 
streets,  for  the  most  part  narrow  and  tortuous, 
derive  a  quaint  and  somber  aspect  from  the  long 
porches  or  arcades  that  border  them  on  either 
side.     Opening  upon  this  covered  side-walk,  the 
entrance  to  a  Huguenot  dwelling  of  the  olden 
time  was  often  distinguishable  by  some  pious 
inscription,  frequently  a  text  of  Scripture,  or  a 
verse  from  Marot's  psalms,  to  be  read  over  the 


I*    '■ 


;{.■ 


'  New  York  Colonial  Manuscripts.  Vol.  XV.,  fol.  12,  106, 
107,  138. 


2  74 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


1681. 


St. 

Nicolas 

and 

La 


chap^v.  door-way.  Some  of  these  inscriptions  are  still 
1661-  legible.  Small,  and  severely  plain,  this  door-way 
led  often  to  a  dwelling  that  abounded  with  evi- 
dences of  wealth  and  taste  ;  the  upper  stories  of 
which  were  ornamented,  both  within  and  with- 
out, by  rich  carvings  in  wood  and  stone. 

Approached  from  the  sea.  La  Rochelle  presents 
much  the  same  appearance  as  of  old  :  with  its 
outer  and  inner  port,  separated  by  a  narrow  pas- 
sage, on  either  side  of  which  rise  the  massive 
forts  of  Saint  Nicolas  and  La  Chaine.'  A  rem- 
nant of  che  ancient  wall  of  the  city  connects  the 
latter  structure  with  the  yet  loftier  tower  of  La 
Lanterae.  Lanterne,  originally  built  to  serve  as  a  beacon 
for  ships  seeking  the  harbor,  but  used  in  times 
of  persecution  as  a  prison  of  state.  Looming 
up  above  the  flat,  ma'  '■"^'  coast,  the  long  line  of 
which  extends  in  unreliev  „  .  snonotony  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  see,  these  monuuit-nts  of  the  past 
remain,  scarcely  more  gray  and  timeworn,  per- 
haps, than  they  appeared  in  the  days  of  Louis 
XIV.  and  his  fleeing  Protestant  subjects. 

It  was  among  these  scenes  and  associations, 
that  the  generation  soon  to  escape  from  La  Ro- 
chelle— the  young  Bernons,  Faneuils,  Baudouins, 
Allaires,  Manigaults — grew  up.  The  streets  and 
squares,  and  the  quays  where  the  great  commer- 
cial houses  still  maintained  themselves,  though 
in  diminished  state,  had  witnessed  many  events 


■  "  Nous  perdimes  de  veiie  les  grosses  tours  et  la  vi'lle  de 
la  Rochelle,  puis  les  iles  de  Rez  et  d'Ol^ron,  disant  Adieu  a 
la  France." — Lescarbot. 


^kMfS-iJMi'JlMpa 


,.  .aa».a»,M.ai«  .tfJuwlM 


HISTORIC  ASSOCIATIONS. 


275 


1681. 


of  stirring  interest.  The  house  was  yet  standing,  chap,  v, 
where  Henry  of  Navarre,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  re-  1661- 
sided,  when  he  came  with  his  noble  mother, 
Jeanne  d'Albret,  at  the  beginning  of  the  third 
civil  war,  to  take  refuge  in  ihe  city  that  had  just 
espoused  the  Protestant  cause.  The  house  of 
Grriton,  the  heroic  mayor  during  the  siege  of 
162S,  was  still  pointed  out.  Nearly  every  dwell- 
ing, indeed,  must  have  had  its  legends  of  heroism 
and  of  suffering,  connected  with  that  memorable 
siege,  when  twenty-five  thousand,  out  of  a  popu- 
lation of  thirty  thousand,  perished  of  hunger ; 
a.id  when,  under  those  gloomy  porches,  the 
dead  lay  in  heaps,  and  the  living,  emaciated 
beyond  recognition,  moved  in  mournful  silence. 
The  city  walls,  so  bravely  defended,  had  long 
since  disappeared,  but  their  outline  could  be 
traced  then  as  now.  Here  was  the  site  of 
the  famous  bastion  de  I'Evangile,  which  bore 
the  brunt  of  so  many  assaults,  in  the  earlier 
siege,  that  at  length  the  royal  troops  re- 
fused to  approach  it :  and  there  was  the  spot 
where,  from  the  wall  which  had  since  been 
leveled  to  the  ground,  the  women  and  children 
poured  boiling  pitch  from  a  huge  caldron  upon 
the  assailants.  Many  of  the  localities  possess- 
ing such  historic  interest  were  associated  also 
with  the  personal  and  domestic  history  of  our 
Huguenots.  One  of  the  liouses  owned  by 
Pierre  Jay,  at  tlie  time  of  his  escape  from 
P'rance,  was  situated  hard  by  the  Lanterne 
tower.  The  home  of  Ester  Le  Roy,  Gabriel 
Bernon's  wife,  faced  upon  the  royal  palace,  once 


"Le 

bastion 

de 
I'Evan- 
gUe." 


mmm 


276 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  V.  the  town-hall  of  the  Rochelle  e,  in  the  days  of 
t66i-  their  freedom  and  prosperity  ;  and  the  property 
1681  which  she  brought  to  her  husband  in  dower,  lay 
near  the  />rd  de  Maubcc,  where,  in  the  early 
times  of  Protestantism,  the  Calvinists,  when  ex- 
cluded from  the  city,  used  to  meet  for  worship. 
The  field,  or  common,  known  as  the  pr6  de 
Matibcc,  now  lay  within  the  city  limits,  and  was 
included  in  the  quarter  of  the  Vi'/lc  nciive,  or 
ThePr^  new  town.  Here  stood  the  Huguenot  priche, 
Maubec.  or  meeting  house,  until  destroyed  after  the 
Revocation.  It  was  a  structure  much  less  im- 
posing than  the  "  Grand  Temple,"  but  it  was 
spacious,  and  it  had  been  for  fifty  years  "  the 
gate  of  heaven,"  to  the  pious  religionists  of  La 
Rochelle.  The  chief,  if  not  the  only  external 
ornament  of  this  house  of  worship,  was  a  finely 
sculptured  stone,  over  the  main  entrance,  dis- 
playing the  arms  of  the  kings  of  France  and  of 
Navarre.  Within,  distinguished  from  the  plain 
benches  that  accommodated  the  rest  of  the 
worshipers,  were  high  seats,  provided  for  the 
magistrates  of  the  city,  the  ministers,  and  the 
members  cf  the  Consistory  :  and  on  the  wall 
near  the  pulpit  was  a  tablet,  the  admiration 
doubtless  of  our  American  refugees  In  their 
childhood,  inscribed  with  the  Ten  Command- 
ments of  the  Law  of  God,  in  letters  of  gold 
upon  a  blue  ground.  A  large  bell  convoked  the 
assemblies  on  Sunday  and  on  other  days  of  ob- 
servance : — a  privilege  enjoyed  by  very  few  of 
the  Reformed  congregations  in  France. 

Conspicuous  among  the  faithful  who,  in  the 


The 
"  Preche." 


laaaH 


H 


da 

H 

Ai 

loi 

na 

to 

an 

bn 

res 

an 

wa 

hoi 

an 

fur 

cor 

sue 

fon 

wrc 

age 

my 

slav 

had 

sixt 

trib 

cis  ] 

tie  ( 

to  ; 

Mor 

Ben 


<"^ia;iwHrr;ii 


ttmrnmnimM 


BERNON  AND  JAY. 


277 


The 

Bernons 

of 

La 

Boohelle. 


days  before  the  Revocation,  frequented  the  Chap.  v. 
Huguenot  meetings  in  the  pr^  de  Maudec, -w^tg  1681. 
Andre  Bernon  and  Pierre  Jay.  The  former  be- 
longed to  a  family  of  great  antiquity,  that  origi- 
nated in  Burgundy,  and  traced  back  its  lineage 
to  the  earliest  centuries  of  the  French  mon- 
archy. The  Bernons  claimed  to  be  a  younger 
branch  of  the  house  of  the  counts  of  Burgundy ; 
resting  the  claim  upon  the  similarity  of  their 
armorial  bearings,'  and  the  fact  that  their  name 
was  borne  by  several  of  the  princes  of  that 
house.  But  the  Bernons  of  La  Rochelle  possessed 
an  independent  claim  to  nobility ;  for  they  had 
furnished  several  mayors  to  the  city ;  and  ac- 
cording to  ancient  usage,  this  office  conferred 
such  rank  upon  the  occupant  and  upon  his  heirs 
forever.  "  I  might  have  remained  in  France," 
wrote  Gabriel  Bernon,  the  refugee,  in  his  old 
age,  "and  kept  my  property,  my  quality,  and 
my  titles,  if  I  had  been  willing  to  submit  to 
slavery."  For  many  generations,  the  family 
had  been  prosperous  and  influential.  In  the 
sixteenth  century,  they  are  mentioned  as  con- 
tributing for  the  ransom  of  the  sons  of  Fran- 
cis I.,  held  as  hostages  by  Spain  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Pavia ;  and  as  sending  a  sum  of  money 
to  Henry  IV.,  by  the  hands  of  Duplessis- 
Mornay,  to  assist  him  in  gaining  his  crown.  The 
Bernons  of  La  Rochelle  were  among  the  first  in 

'The  Bernon  arms  are — "d'azurtlun  chevron  d'argent 
surmonte  d'un  croissant  de  meme,  accompagn^  en  chef  de 
deux  ^toiles  d'or,  et  en  pointe  d'un  ours  passant  de  mSme." 
(Filleau.) 


Hi: 


2  78 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


1542- 


Chap.  V.  that  city  to  embrace  the  Reformed  reh'gion," 
The  branch  of  the  family  to  which  Andre  be- 
longed, was  distinguished  as  that  of  Berncn  de 
Bernonville,  a  designation  which  was  now  worn 
by  his  elder  brother  Leonard.  Another  branch, 
known  as  the  Bernons  de  la  Bernoniere, 
seigneurs  de  I'lsleau,  was  also  attached  to 
the  Protestant  faith.^ 


'  Their  fidelity  to  that  faith  continued  through  the 
times  of  persecution  that  introduced  and  followed  the  Rev- 
ocation. During  the  eighteenth  century,  "  this  family  formed 
the  nucleus  of  Protestantism  in  La  Rochelle.  It  was  in  the 
Bernon  dwelling  that  the  Reformed  were  accustomed  to 
meet  for  the  celebration  of  their  religious  services.  These 
meetings  were  not  avowed,  but  they  were  known  to  exist, 
and  generally  they  were  tolerated.  Whenever  new  orders 
from  the  government  brought  about  a  revival  of  persecution, 
the  meetings  wrapped  themselves  in  the  deepest  secrecy ; 
but  they  never  ceased  entirely,  during  the  period  in  which 
that  worship  was  denied  a  liberty  recognized  by  the  laws." 
— (The  late  M.  L.  Delayant,  librarian  of  the  Bibliotheque 
de  la  Rochelle,  in  a  letter  to  the  author,  October  18,  1878.) 

"  Bernon  :  famille  habitant  la  Rochelle,  apres  avoir  em- 
brasse  I'heresie  de  Calvin,  n'  a  jamais  vouiu  se  faire  re- 
habiliter  ;  elle  a  toujours  et^  riche  et  consider^e." — (Filleau, 
Diet.  hist,  et  g^n.  des  fam.  de  I'anc.  Poitou,  s.  v.) 

*  "The  name  De  Bernon  is  found  in  the  year  1191,  in  the 
list  of  families  who  had  representatives  in  the  crusades  to 
the  Holy  Land  "  "  Transplanted  into  various  provinces  of 
western  France,  the  family  originated  in  Burgundy.  It  con- 
siders itself  to  be  a  younger  branch  of  the  house  of  the  counts 
of  Burgundy,  resting  this  belief  upon  the  name,  which  was 
borne  by  several  of  those  princes,  from  the  year  895,  and 
upon  the  conformity  of  its  armorial  bearings  with  those  that 
were  borne  at  an  early  day  by  the  counts  of  Macon.  From 
the  fourteenth  century,  and  beginning  with  Raoul  de  Bernon, 
the  house  of  Bernon  possesses  all  the  documents  necessary 
to  establish  its  filiation." 

"  The  house  of  Bernon  has  formed  alliances  with  some  of 
the  most  illustrious  families  of  the  kingdom  ;  it  has  rendered 
military  services  that  have  not  been  without  distinction  ; 


kiMS 


^ji^t^mmMiuaimsmmmmmi^ 


THE  SEIGNEURS  DE  MONTONNEAU.     279 

The  ancestors  of  Pierre  Jay  had  come  to  La 
Rochelle  from  the  province  of  Poitou.  Not  im- 
probably, they  belonged  to  the  family  of  that 
name,  the  seigneurs  de  Montonneau,  whose  seat 
was  at  Chateau-Garnier,  near  Civray,  in  Upper 
Poitou.  As  early,  however,  as  the  year  1565, 
Jehan  Jay,  who  had  embraced  the  Protestant 
faith,  was  residing  in  La  Rochelle. 

Gabriel  Manigault,  the  father  of  Pierre  and 
Gabriel,  who  settled  in  South  Carolina,  was  the 


Cbap.  V, 

1565. 


Gabriel 

Hanig- 

aolt. 


and  it  counts  among  its  members  superior  officers  of  the 
greatest  merit,  both  military  and  naval.  It  has  had  several 
chevaliers  of  the  order  of  Saint  Louis." — Livre  d'Or  de  la 
Noblesse  de  France. 

According  to  the  pedigree  traced  by  M.  Henri  Filleau, 
Dictionnaire  historique  et  g^nealogique  des  families  de 
I'ancien  Poitou,  Raoul  Demon, "who  served  with  distinction  in 
the  wars  of  his  time,"  married  Charlotte  de  Talmont,  and  had 
a  son  Nicolas,  chosen  mayor  of  La  Rochelle  in  1357.  Jean, 
son  of  Nicolas,  was  chosen  mayor  in  1398.  Jean-Thomas, 
son  of  Jean,  founded  the  two  gentilhommihres,  or  manors,  of 
"  Bernonifere  "  and  *'  Bernonville."  The  former  derived  its 
name  from  a  small  chdteati  near  Pouzauges,  in  the  province 
of  Poitou,  (now  in  the  department  of  Vendue,)  and  the  latter 
from  a  chdteati  on  the  island  of  Re.  Jean-Thomas  left  a 
son  Andr6,  who  had  two  sons,  Pierre,  sieur  de  la  Bernoni^re 
et  risleau,  and  Jean.  The  latter,  Jean,  second  son  of 
Andr6,  had  a  son  Andrd.  M.  Filleau  has  not  followed  out 
the  line  of  descent  through  Jean  and  Andre,  the  younger 
branch  of  the  family  ;  but  from  this  point  the  line  of 
descent  is  traced  by  M.  Crassous  as  follows  :  Andr^  Bernon 
married  Catharine  Du  Bouch6  in  1545.  Their  son  Leonard 
married  Fran9oise  Carre,  in  1578,  and  had  two  sons,  Jean, 
sieur  de  Bernonville,  and  Andre.  The  younger,  Andr^, 
married  (i)  Jeanne  Lescour,  and  (2)  Marie  Papin  in  1605, 
and  had  two  sons,  Leonard,  sieur  de  Bernonville,  and  Andr^, 
to  whom  reference  is  made  in  the  text,  and  who  was  the 
father  of  Gabriel  Bernon,  the  refugee. — (G^ndalogie  de  la 
famille  Bernon,  k  la  Rochelle,  dress^e  par  M.  Joseph  Cras- 
sous, 


1782.) 


28o 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  V.  descendant   of  one  of  the  earliest  converts   to 
1559.     Protestantism  in  Aunis.     Among  the  first  bap- 
tisms performed  by  a  Protestant   pastor  in  La 
Rochelle,  was  that  of  Sara,  daughter  of   Jean 
Manigault  and  Louise  de  Foix,  his  wife.     Jean 
was   already   one  of   the    **  anciens "   or   elders 
of    the    infant    church :     and    his    house    was 
1660      ^^^  °^  ^^^^  places  where  its  meetings  for  wor- 
Maroh29  ^^^'P    Were    held  in  secret  at  this  early  period. 
1665.     A  century  later,  Isaac  Manigault  acted  as  spon- 
sor at  the  baptism  of  Augustus  Jay. 

The  Baudouin  family  of  La  Rochelle  — 
whose  name,  in  Massachusetts,  has  suffered  the 
change  to  Bowdoin — was  "  one  of  the  most 
ancient  and  important"  of  that  city.'  Its  dif- 
ferent branches  were  known  by  designations 
taken  from  the  numerous  seignciirics  which  they 
«    ,    .     possessed.     They  were  descended   from  Pierre 

Baudoun,  *^  .        ^  •'       . 

sieurde  Baudouin,  ecuyer,  sieur  de  la  Laigne,  who  mar- 
'  ried  the  daughter  of  Jean  Bureau,  mayor  of  La 
Rochelle  in  1448.  The  Baudouins  were  among 
the  first  disciples  of  the  Reformed  faith  in 
that  city.  Several  members  of  this  family 
distinguished  themselves  by  their  services  to  the 
Protestant  cause  durincr  the  civil  wars.  At  the 
period  of  the  Revocation,  one  of  its  branches  took 
refuge  in  Prussia,  another  fled  to  the  Nether- 
lands, and  a  third  escaped  to  England.  It  is 
not  known  to  which  of  these  branches  Pierre, 
of  Boston,  belonged. 

Another    ancient    family,    which    had     long 

*  La  France  Protestante,  deuxi^me  edition,  s.  v. 


"jr.-;*t:5a«»/t»3M*-,ti^.:?r:r.?; 


,  •■^*.  «»-«*^ 


iill.(iiMltiiii>>ii*iiii" 


ALLAIRE  AND  FANEUIL. 


281 


been  identified  with  the  Huguenot  cause,  and  ciiap.v. 
which  indeed  has  maintained  its  fidelity  to  1681. 
that  cause  to  the  present  day,  was  that  of  Al- 
laire.' This  house  was  represented  in  the 
Huguenot  congregation,  as  it  existed  at  the  time 
of  the  Revocation,  by  several  prominent  mem- 
bers. Antoine,  sieur  du  Bugnon  :  Jean,  royal  sec- 
retary, and  Henri,  counselor  and  lieutenant  gen- 
eral in  admiralty,  were  brothers.  Descended  from 
a  younger  branch  of  the  same  family  was  Pierre 
Allaire,  whose  son  Alexandre  came  to  America. 
Benjamin  Faneuil,  a  Huguenot  merchant  of 
La  Rochelle,  had  married  Andre  Bernon's 
daufjhter  Marie.  His  brother  Pierre  was  the 
father  of  Benjamin,  Jean  and  Andre  Faneuil, 
who  emi^-rated  to  America  after  the  Revocation. 
A  branch  of  this  family,  that  had  settled  at 
Saintes  in  the  province  of  Saintonge,  took 
refuge  after  the  Revocation  in  England.^ 


'  La  France  Protesiante,  deuxieme  edition,  s.  v. 

'  For  the  following  pedigree  of  the  Faneuil  family  of  La 
Rochelle,  I  am  indebted  to  the  learned  genealogist  M. 
Louis  Marie  Meschinet  de  Richemond,  archiviste  de  la 
Charente-Inferieure. 

Benjamin  Faneuil,  born  in  1593,  married  Suzanne  de 
I'Espine  in  1616,  and  died  in  1677.  His  son  Pierre,  born 
in  1618,  married  Marie  Cousseau  in  1640,  and  had  two 
sons,  Benjamin,  who  married  Marie  Bernon,  and  Pierre, 
who  married  Marie  Depont.  Pierre  and  Marie  Faneuil 
had  three  sons,  Benjamin,  Jean  and  Andr^,  and  two 
daughters,  Suzanne,  who  married  Abraham  de  la  Croix, 
and  Jeanne,  who  married  Pierre  Cossart. 

Benjamin  Faneuil  married  Anne  Bureau,  July  28,1699,  and 
died  in  New  York,  March  31,  17 19,  aged  fifty  years  and  eight 
months.  Jean  Faneuil  died  in  La  Rochelle,  June  24,  1737. 
Andr^    [Andrew]   Faneuil  died   in   Boston,   February    13, 

1737. 


^ 


282 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  v. 
1681. 


The 

Sigonr- 

nejn. 


The  Sigourney  family  bore  the  name  of  a 
locality  in  the  province  of  Poitou,  where  not  im- 
probably they  may  have  originated."  They 
were  represented  at  this  period  by  Andre 
Sigourney,  then  in  middle  life,  who  according  to 
the  family  record  "  was  comfortably  settled  at 
or  near  Rochelle  when  the  Edict  of  Nantes  was 
revoked." 

Andre  Laurent,  the  ancestor  of  a  noted  family 
of  South  Carolina,  was  at  this  time  living  in  the 
parish  of  Saint  Sauveur,  with  his  mother, 
Elisabeth  Menigaut,  the  widow  of  Jean  Laur- 
ent, formerly  a  merchant  of  the  city.  Marie 
Lucas,  the  young  Huguenot  girl  who  was 
to  join  her  fortunes  with  his,  before  seeking  a 
home  in  the  New  World,  was  likewise  a  native 
of  La  Rochelle.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Daniel  Lucas,  a  merchant.  The  friendly  rela- 
tions of  the  two  families  seem  to  have  been  0/ 
long  standing ;  and  young  Laurent  was  doubt- 
less a  frequent  visitor  at  Perigny,  a  short  dis- 
tance out  of  town,  where  Daniel  Lucas  had  a 
small  farm.'' 


'  Sigournais,  now  a  hamlet  of  some  eight  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, in  the  department  of  Vendee,  four  miles  from  Chaton- 
nay.     Near  by  is  the  chateau  de  Sigournais. 

'  "Elizabeth  Laurens,  veuve,"  of  the  paroisse  St.  Sauveur, 
is  reported  as  having  fled  in  1682  to  England.  (Liste  des 
families  de  la  religion  pr^tendiie  reformee  qui  sont  sorlis  du 
pays  d'Aulnix,  Isles,  et  costes  de  Xaintonge  pour  aller  dans 
lesdiis  pays  estrangers  depuis  I'annee  1681,  jusquesa  la  fin 
de  May,  1685,  Archives  Nationales,  [Paris]  Tt.  n°-  259.) 
The  same  document  mentions  that  **  Le  Sr.  Daniel  Lucas, 
marchand,  sa  femme  et  4  enfants,"  took  refuge,  the  same 
year,  in  England.     "  II  a  une  borderie  a  Perigny,  dont  son 


^f"^^ 


THE  "NOBLESSE." 


283 


Chap.  v. 
1681. 


Jean  and  Josue  David,  represented  "one  of 
the  best  families  of  La  Rochelle  :  a  family,"  ac- 
cording to  La  France  Protestante,  "  not  less 
distinguished  by  reason  of  the  positions  which 
its  members  have  filled,  than  eminent  for  the 
services  it  had  rendered."  In  1572,  Jean  David, 
'•  pair  du  corps  de  ville,"  was  appointed  with  two 
others  to  visit  England,  for  the  purpose  of 
soliciting  the  help  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  of 
hastening  Montgomery's  departure  with  the 
promised  fleet  for  the  relief  of  the  besieged 
city.  In  1628,  Jacques  David,  who  had  twice 
been  mayor,  was  sent  with  Philippe  Vincent  upon 
a  similar  embassy  to  Charles  II.,  and  succeeded  in 
influencing  the  king  to  sign  a  treaty  with  the 
Protestants.  Jean  and  Josue  David  came  to 
New  York  after  the  Revocation. 

Among  the  members  of  the  "  noblesse "  of 
Aunis  that  continued  faithful  to  the  Huguenot 
cause,  in  these  days  of  augmenting  persecution,  ^vodo". 
were  several  who  afterwards  formed  part  of  the 
emigration  to  South  Carolina.  Paul  Bruneau 
de  Rivedoux,  '  ecuyer,  son  of  Arnaud  Bruneau, 

])^re  jouit."  Daniel  Lucas,  Mary,  Augustus,  James,  and 
Peter,  children,  were  naturalized  in  England,  March  8,  1682. 
(Lists  of  naturalized  Denizens:  in  Protestant  Exiles  from 
France  in  the  Reign  of  Louis  XIV.  By  the  Rev.  David  C. 
A.  Agnew.  London :  1874.  Vol.  IIL,  p.  33.)  Andre 
Laurent,  natif  de  la  Rochelle,  fils  de  feu  Jean  Laurent  et  ' 
Elizabeth  Menigaut  ;  et  Marie  Lucas,  aussi  native  de  La 
Rochelle,  fille  de  Daniel  Lucas  et  feu  Jeanne  Marchand, 
were  married  in  London,  Feb.  22,  1688.  (Records  of  the 
French  Church  in  Threadneedle  Street,  London.) 

'  Rivedoux,  a  little  seaport  on  the  island  of  R^,  at  the 
point  nearest  to  the  mainland. 

"  Le  fils  ain^  du  Sr  Rivedou,  Ecuyer,  son  fr^re  et  2  scEurs," 


The 

Sienr 

de 


!84 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  V.  sieur  de  la  Chabossiere  ; '  Henri  Bruneau,  ecuyer, 
1681.  son  of  Henri  Bruneau  de  la  Chabossiere  ;  Henri 
Auguste  ChastaiLjnier,  ecuyer,  seigneur  de  Cra- 
rnahe,''  and  Alexandre  Thesee  Chastaignier, 
ecuyer,  seigneur  dc  I'lsle,  were  all  born  in  La 
Rochelle.  Paul  Bruneau  was  the  grandson  of 
Jean  Bruneau,  counselor,  an  eminent  citizen, 
whose  family  obtained  patents  of  nobility  in  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.^  He  was 
accompanied  in  his  flight  to  America  by  his 
nephew  Henri,  son  of  his  deceased  brother 
Arnaud.  Henri  and  Alexandre  Chastaignier 
were  the  sons  of  Roch  Chastaignier,  ecuyer. 
The  name  belonged  to  a  distinguished  house, 
that  traced  its  lineage  back  uninterruptedly  to  the 
eleventh  century/  It  was  early  and  honorably 
identified  with  the  Protestant  cause  in  western 
France.5  Philippe  Chastaignier,  the  abbess  of  a 
nunnery  in  Poitou,  entered  into  correspondence 
with  Calvin,  in  1549,  with  the  purpose  of  aband- 
oning the  cloister,  and  professing  the  evangelical 
faith  ;  a  purpose  which  she  carried  out,  together 
with    eight  of    her    nuns,  leaving    only  one    in 


are  mentioned  in  the  Liste  des  families  de  la  religion  pre- 
tendue  reformee,  etc.  "  Annee  de  leur  depart,  1682.  Lieu 
de  leur  retraite,  Angleterre  on  Danemark." 

'  The  chdteau  of  La  Chaboissiere  is  near  La  Villedieu,  ten 
miles  south  of  Poitiers,  in  Poitou. 

*  The  chdteau  of  Cramah^  is  about  five  miles  southeast  of 
La  Rochelle. 

*  Filleau,  Diet.  hist,  et  g^n.  des  fam.  de  I'anc.  Poitou,  I., 
p.  509. — La  France  Protestante,  s.  v. 

^  Filleau,  Diet.  hist,  et  gen.,  L,  p.  612. 

*  La  France  Protestante,  IIL,  p.  297. 


BBS 


•smspscsE 


mmsssssasmsL 


.■■^^■yHi*    H<|»"'»llj|l..»|4fcu> 


mmm 


"T 


BRUNEAU  AND  CHASTAIGNIER. 


285 


the  convent.'     The  Chastaigniers  who  went  to   chap.  v. 
South  Carolina,   were  descended  from  a  branch     loiji. 
of  this  family,  established  in  La  Rochelle,  three 
members  of  which  filled   the  office  of  mayor  of 
the  city.' 


'  Lievre,  Hist,  des  protestants  et  des  eglises  ref.  du  Poitou, 
I.,  p.  49. 

'  Filleau,  Diet.  hist,  et  gen.,  I.,  p.  623. 

The  list  of  French  and  Swiss  refugees  in  Carolina  wishing 
to  be  naturalized  as  P2nglisli,  (Liste  des  Fran(;ois  et  Suisses 
Refugiez  en  Caroline  qui  souhaittent  d'etre  naturalizes  An- 
glois,)  about  the  year^i695,  contains  these  names  :  Paul  Bru- 
neau  de  Revidoux,  Ecuyer,  fils  de  defunt  Arnaud  Bruneau 
de  la  Chabossiere,  Ecuyer,  et  de  [blank]  de  la  Chabossiere, 
natif  de  la  Rochelle,  province  d'Onis.  Henry  Bruneau,  fils 
de  defunt  Henry  de  Bruneau  de  la  Chabossiere,  Ecuyer,  et 
de  Marie  de  la  Chabossiere,  ne  a  la  Rochelle,  province 
d'Onis.  Henry  Auguste  Chatagner,  Ecuyer,  Alexandre 
Thes^e  Chatagner,  fils  de  defunt  Roch  Chatagner,  Ecuyer, 
et  de  Jeanne  de  Chatagner,  n^z  i  la  Rochelle :  province 
d'Onis.  Elizabeth  Chatagner,  femme  du  susdit  Alexandre 
Thes^e  Chatagner,  fiUe  de  Pierre  Buretel  et  d'Elizabeth 
Buretel.  Alexandre  Chatagner,  i^llizabeth  Madeleine  Cha- 
tagner, enfans  des  susdits,  nez  en  Caroline. — (Habitants  de 
Santee.) 

Paul  and  Henry  Bruneau,  and  Henry  Augustus  Chastaig- 
ner  de  Cramah<^,  had  already,  while  in  England,  obtained 
letters  of  naturalization,  March  20,  1686,  and  April  15, 
1687. — (List  of  naturalized  Denizens,  in  Agnew's  Protest- 
ant Exiles  from  France,  Vol.  HI.,  Pp.  41,  42.) 

Arneau  Bruneau,  the  father  of  Paul  and  Henry,  probably 
came  to  South  Carolina  with  his  sons,  and  died  there  soon 
after.  In  the  Secretary  of  State's  office,  Charleston,  S.  C, 
there  is  record  of  a  deed  of  contract  executed  in  London, 
February  25th,  1686,  between  Arnold  Bruneau,  seigneur  of 
Chaboissiere,  and  Paul  Bruneau,  lord  of  Ruedoux,  [Rive- 
doux,]  of  the  one  part,  and  Josias  Marylan,  lord  of  La 
Forcet,  of  the  other  part,  for  the  erection  of  a  mill  in  South 
Carolina  ;  the  said  mill  to  be  erected  on  the  land  of  either 
party  without  prejudice  to  the  interests  of  the  other. — (His- 
tory of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  South  Carolina.  By 
George  Howe,  D.D.     Vol.  L,  p.  :oi.) 


286 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap  V.  David  and  Elie  Papin  belonged  to  an  ancient 
i68r.  Huguenot  family  of  La  Rochelle.  One  of  the 
name  had  served  as  deacon  in  1561  :  another  as 
minister  of  the  church  in  1612:'  and  more  re- 
cently, "  le  sieur  Papin  " — whether  David  or  Elic; 
was  intended  or  not,  does  not  appear — had  offi- 
ciated as  public  "  reader,"  or  clerk,  in  the  services 
of  the  "  temple"  of  the  Ville  neuve.''  Both  be- 
came prominent  members  of  the  French  refugee 
church  in  New  York. 

Daniel  Robert  removed  from  La  Rochelle  to 
Daniel  the  island  of  Martinique  at  the  time  of  the  Rev- 
'*'*•  ocation,  with  his  wife  Susanne  La  Tour.  About 
the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  he  came  to 
New  York,  where  his  posterity  have  resided. 
He  h"d  left  a  considerable  estate  in  France  ;  and 
for  years,  it  is  said,  after  his  arrival  in  America, 
he  received  legal  notice  from  time  to  time, 
summoning  him  to  appear  at  the  door  of  a 
certain  church,  and  show  cr.use,  if  any  he  had, 
why  certain  lands  or  tenements  in  that  city  or 
in  its  vicinity  should  not  be  confiscated  to 
the    king,    or  conveyed   to  other   members   of 


'  La  Rochelle  Protestante.  Recherches  poUtiques  et  re- 
ligieuses  :  11 26-1 792.  Par  P.-S.  Callot.  La  Rochelle,  1863. 
Pp.  95,  134. 

*  "  Le  S"".  Papin,  ci-dev'.  lecteur  au  preche,"  residing  in 
the  paroisse  S^  Sauveur,  in  La  Rochelle,  fled  in  1681,  with 
his  wife  and  four  little  children,  leaving  a  house  in  town, 
and  took  refuge  in  the  island  of  Guernsey.  (Liste  des 
families  de  la  R.  P.  P..,  etc.:  Archives  Nationales,  Tt.  n". 
259.)  David  Papin,  "marchand,"  is  mentioned  among 
"fugitifs  de  la  Rochelle,  4  Octobre,  1685."— (L'Eglise  Re- 
form^e  de  La  Rochelle.  Etude  historique.  Par  L.Del- 
mas,  pasteur.     Toulouse  :  1870.     P.  394.) 


mmmnmimmmm 


ROCHELLESE  EMIGRANTS  TO  BOSTON.  287 

the   Robert  family  remaining   in  La  Rochclle.'    Chap.  v. 
The  late  Christopher  R.  Robert  of  New  York,     1681. 
distinguished   for   his  munificent  charities,   and 
particularly  for  the  founding  of  Robert  College, 
Constantinople,  was  a  descendant  of  this  refugee 
in  the  fourth  generation. 

There  were  other  worshipers  in  the  Protest- 
ant "  preche"  of  La  Rochelle,  before  the  Rev- 
ocation, who  bore  names  that  have  become  as 
household  words  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 
It  will  be  proper  to  make  mention  of  them  here, 
in  passing,  while  reserving  fuller  accounts  for 
the  volumes  of  this  work  that  will  relate  to  the 
places  where  the  Rochellese  emigrants  to  Amer- 
ica eventually  settled. 

Amon^r  the  fu^ritives  from  La  Rochelle  who 
came  to  Massachusetts,  were  Louis  Allaire," 
Pierre  Baudouin,  Gabriel  Bernon,  PVan^ois  Bu- 
reau. Gabriel  and  Jacques  Depont,^  Andre  and 
Benjamin  Faneuil,  Henri  Guionneau,  Jacob  Pel- 
oquin,  and  Andre  Sigourney.  A  larger  number 
established  themselves  in  the  province  of  New 
York.  The  following  persons  became  residents 
of  the   city   of   New   York:    Jean   Auboynenu,* 

'  "  On  these  occasions,  although  he  was  not  easily  roused 
to  anger,  he  would  become  very  angry,  and  for  a  while  be 
much  agitated,  tearing  the  ])apers  indignantly  to  pieces,  and 
throwing  them  into  the  fire." — (Family  record.) 

'  Son  of  Jean  Allaire  and  Jeanne  Bernon,  of  La  Rochelle. 
— (Allaire  Genealogy.) 

'  Nephews  of  Gabriel  Bernon,  whose  sister  Suzanne  mar- 
ried Paul  de  Pont,  of  La  Rochelle. — (Bernon  Papers  and 
Genealogy.) 

*  Le  nom  d'une  famille  de  La  Rochelle  qui  y  fut  des  pre- 
mieres k  embrasser  les  principes  de  la  R^forme.— (La  France 


288 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.v.   Daniel    Bernardeau,*    Marie    Billard,  widow  of 
i68r.     Etienne  Jamain,''  Jeanne  Boi'^selet,  wife  of  Jean 
Carouge,^  Pierre  and  Samuel    Bourdet/  Pierre 
Chaigneau,5    Jean     and     Josue  David,     Benja- 
min  D'Harriette,^  Etienne  Doucinet,^  Auguste 

Protestante.)  Louis,  married  in  1573,  had  a  aon  Louis, 
pastor  of  several  churches,  among  them  the  church  of  La 
Rochelle  (1607-1610).  He  died  in  1668,  leaving  several 
sons,  one  of  wliom,  Pierre,  had  a  son  Pierre,  born  in  1672, 
and  a  son  Jean,  born  in  1674.  (Ibid.)  Jean  Auboyneau  was 
in  New  York  in  1697. 

'  A  Rochcllese  family.  Daniel  Bernardeau  and  Marie 
Monier,  his  wife,  were  in  New  York  in  1701. 

'  Marie  Billard,  veufue  d'Estienne  Jamain  de  la  Rochelle, 
died  in  New  York  May  5,  1689. 

'  Invoice  of  goods  found  in  the  house  of  John  Carrouge, 
deceased  April  5,  1689. — (Wills,  Surrogate's  Office,  New 
York.  No.  14.  Pp.  167,  168.)  Enterrement,  6  Avril,  1689, 
Jeanne  Boisselet,  femme  du  sieur  Carrouge,  native  de  laro 
[La  Rochelle]  en  le  Royaume  de  France. — (Records  of  the 
French  Reformed  Church  of  New  York.) 

*  Pierre  and  Samuel  Bourdet  were  members  of  the  French 
Church  in  New  York,  as  early  as  the  year  1689,  when  Samuel 
was  the  husband  of  Judith  Piaud,  of  La  Rochelle. — (See 
below.)  Comp.  Estienne  Bourdet,  one  of  the  fugitives  from 
La  Rochelle  in  1685. 

'  Pierre  Chaigneau  (listedes  religionnaires  fugitifs  de  La 
Rochelle  dont  les  biens  ont  ete  saisis,  1685-1688  ;  (pioted  by 
Delmas,  I'Eglise  R^form^e  de  la  Rochelle,  p.  395).  Peter 
Chaigneau,  naturalized  in  li^rigland,  March  21,  [688. — (Ag- 
new,  IIL,  49.)  He  was  made  freeman  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  May  29,  1691.  Pieter  Chaigneaig,  van  Rochel,  married 
Aeltje  Smit,  in  the  Dutch  Church,  New  York,  May  13,  1693 

*  "  Famille  de  fervents  protestants  rochelois." — (La  France 
Protestante,  L  p.  724.)  Benjamin  d'Harriette  was  the 
son  of  Susanne  Papin,  by  her  first  husband,  Benjamin  d'Har- 
riette, of  La  Rochelle.  She  married  in  London,  November 
9,  1686,  Elie  Boudinot,  veuf,  (Livredes  Mariages  de  I'Eglise 
franfoise  de  la  Savoye,)  with  whom  she  came  to  New  York, 
accompanied  by  her  son,  who  was  made  freeman  of  the  city 
in  1700. 

'  "  Le  nomm^  Doucinet,"  and  wife,  of  the  paroisse  St. 


EMIGRANTS  TO  NEW  YORK. 


289 


and  Marie  Grasset,'  Marie  Anne  Guichard," 
Rene  Het,  ^  Guillaume  Huertin,  *  F"ran9ois  Hul- 
lin,5  Auguste  Lucas,  Auguste  Jay,   Gabriel  Le 

Sauveur,  La  Rochelle,  fled  to  England  in  1682. — (Liste  des 
families  de  la  R.  P.  R.,  etc.,  Archives  Nationales,  Tt.  n°. 
259.)  Stephen  Doussiner,  Susan,  7w/^,  Mary  and  Marianne 
children,  were  naturalized  in  England,  March  8,  1682. 
— (Agnew,  III.,  31.)  They  were  in  New  York  November  4, 
1688. 

'  Augustus  and  Mary  Grasset,  naturalized  in  England, 
March  8,  1682,  came  as  early  as  16S9  to  New  York,  where 
Grasset  became  a  leading  merchant  and  government  official, 
and  one  of  the  "  chefs  de  famille  "  of  the  French  Church. 
He  was  murdered  in  the  negro  insurrection,  April  7,  17 12. 
Marianne  Grasset,  "  van  Rochel,"  was  married  in  the 
Dutch  Church,  New  York,  April  30,  1692,  to  Henri  de 
Money,  "  met  attestatie  van  de  Fransche  Kercke." 

"  Marie  Guichard  and  sister,  of  the  paroisse  St.  Bar- 
thelemy,  La  Rochelle,  fled  in  1684  to  England. — (Arch. 
Nat.,  Tt.)  Marie  Anne  Guichard,  French  Church,  New 
York,  March  6,  1706. 

''  Son  of  Josu^  and  Sarah  Het,  of  La  Rochelle.  He  was 
n  merchant  of  New  York,  and  agent  in  that  city,  with 
Andr(^  Fresneau,  of  the  Royal  West  Indies  Company  of 
France. — (Dr.  E.  B.  O'Callaghan  ;  in  Historical  Magazine, 
new  series,  vol.  IV.,  p.  266.) 

*  Guilleaume  Huertin,  maistre  de  navire,  demeurant  5. 
presant  en  cette  ville,  et  cy-devant  cl  la  Rochelle,  was  mar- 
ried in  Bristol,  England,  by  M.  Descairac,  January  2,  1698, 
to  Elizabeth  Bertrand,  veuve  de  Jean  Bertrand,  ma'inier. 
He  was  the  son  of  le  sieur  Guilleaume  Huertin,  of  La  Ro- 
chelle, maistre  de  navire  du  Roy,  decede  en  ung  voiage  des 
Indes  ;  and  ot  Suzanne  Croiset  his  wife. — (Registres  de 
I'Eglise  Fran^oise  Protest**.  Episcop".  de  Bristol,  Non- 
Parochial  Registers,  etc.  Foreign  Churches.  Somerset 
House,  London.)  Guillaume  Huertin  camt  with  his  son 
Guillaume,  born  in  Bristol,  November  12,  1699,  to  New  York, 
and  died  there  in  17 18. 

*  Francois  Huslin  and  his  wife,  of  the  paroisse  St.  Bar- 
thelemy.  La  Rochelle,  fled  toEnglanc'  in  1683. — (Arch.  Nat., 
Tt.)  He  was  naturalized  there,  July  2,  1684,  and  was 
made  a  freeman  of  the  city  of  New  York,  May  29,  1691. 


Chap.  V. 
1681. 


290 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


chap.v.   Boiteux,'  Etienne  Jamain,^'  Fran9ois    Louraux/ 

i68^[.     Jacques    Merie,*    Paul    Merlin, ^    Pierre    Morin/' 

(ancestor  of  John  Morin  Scott,)  Elie  Nezereau,^ 

His  wife  Elizabeth  died  Dec.  23,  1694.  He  died  in  Sep- 
tember, 1702. 

'  Gabriel  Le  Boiteux,  naturalized  January  5,  1688,  made 
freeman  of  the  city  of  New  '/ork,  August  3, 1688,  was  perhaps 
a  brother  of  Paul  and  Pierre  Le  Boiteux,  fugitives  from  La 
Rochelle,  whose  goods  were  seized  February  4,  1685,  and 
who  established  themselves  as  merchants  in  Amsterdam. 
Gabriel  became  a  prominent  merchant  in  New  York,  and 
was  one  of  the  first  Elders  of  t'"'e  French  church  (in  1688). 

'  Etienne,  Arnaud,  Nicolas,  and  perhaps  Elie,  sons  of 
Etienne  Jamain,  marchand  de  la  Rochelle,  were  in  New 
York  at  an  early  day.  Etienne  was  high  constable  in  1705  ; 
Elie  in  1710.  Nicolas  was  one  of  the  *' chets  de  famille  " 
of  the  French  Church  in  1704. 

'  Francois  Louraux,  natif  de  la  Rochelle,  dccede  le  22 
Juin,  1689,  was  interred  in  the  cemetery  of  the  French 
Church  in  New  York. 

*  Jacques  Merie,  or  De  Maree,  "  van  Rochel,"  was  mar- 
ried, November  27,  1692,  in  the  Dutch  Church  of  New  York, 
to  Cornelia  Roos,  widow  of  Elias  Provoost. 

'  Paul  Merlin,  born  at  Rochelle,  was  naturalized  in  New 
York,  September  27,  1687. 

'  Pierre  Morin,  natif  de  la  Rochelle,  France,  fils  de 
Pierre  Morin,  marchand  au  dit  lieu,  married  Marie  Jamain, 
June  12,  1692,  in  the  French  Church  in  New  York.  He 
was  naturalized  in  England,  October  10,  1688,  with  his  first 
wife  Frances,  and  was  made  freeman  of  New  York,  June  11, 
1691.  Three  sons  and  four  daughters  were  baptized  in  the 
French  Church. 

'  Born  in  La  Rochelle  [1639]  :  died  in  New  York,  March 
28,  1719,  aged  eighty  years. — (Inscription  upon  his  tomb- 
stone, in  Trinity  Church- yard,  New  York.)  He  was  natural- 
ized in  England,  March  20,  1686,  and  came  over  in  the  ship 
Robert,  with  pasteur  Peiret,  in  October,  1687.  He  was  made 
freeman  of  New  York,  December  5,  1687.  He  was  engaged 
in  trade  with  the  West  Indies,  and  died  in  Kingston, 
Jamaica,  in  March,  1709,  leaving  by  will  fifty  pounds  to  the 
Elders  of  the  French  Reformed  Protestant  congregation  in 
New  York,  for  the  use  of  the  poor.  A  former  will  mentioned 
his  nephews  James,  Martin  and  Lewis,  his  cousin  Elias  Neze- 
reau,  and  his  deceased  niece,  Jane  Barbauld,  of  London. 


-^Ti:i-a£.-aa»'Js*aa»assa!««B*8WeSa 


EMIGRANTS  TO  NEW  ROCHELLE.       291 

David  and  Elie  Papin,  Etienne  Perdriau,' 
Gedeon,  son  of  Alexandre  Petit,  "^  Jeanne 
Piaud,  wife  of  Simeon  Soumain,  Judith  Piaud, 
wife  of  Samuel  Bourdet,^  Daniel  Robert  and 
Jean  Sevenhoven.*  The  settlers  of  New  Ro- 
chelle,  in  Westchester  county,  New  York,  were, 
as  it  might  be  presumed,  for  the  most  part 
Rochellese.  The  leading  member  of  the  settle- 
ment was  Alexandre  Allaire,  of  whom  mention 
has  already  been  made.  With  him  were  associ- 
ated  Louis    Bonneau,5  Jean  Bouteiller,^  Jacques 


Chap.  V. 

1681. 


'  Daniel  Perdriau,  of  La  Rochelle,  was  a  refugee  in  Cork, 
Ireland,  in  1695. — (Registre  du  Temple  de  Soho,  Somerset 
House,  London.)  Etienne,  Elizabeth,  and  Marie  Perdriau, 
were  members  of  the  French  Church  in  New  York,  1689- 
1699.  Stephen,  mariner,  was  made  freeman  in  1702. 
Will  proved  in  New  York,  March  20,  1688. 

'  La  veuve  Piaud,  ses  3  filles  et  un  neveu,  de  la  paroisse 
deSt.  Sauveur,  La  Rochelle,  fled  to  England  in  1681. — (Arch. 
Nat.,  Tt.)  Jeanne,  probably  one  of  the  daughters,  was  mar- 
ried to  Simeon  Soumain  before  coming  to  America  ;  their 
son  Simon  was  baptized  in  the  French  Church  in  Thread- 
needle  street,  London,  June  10,  1685.  Judith,  probably 
another  daughter,  was  married  to  Samuel  Bourdet. 

*  Jean  Sevenhoven,  van  Rochel,  was  married  to  Mary 
Lescuye  [L'Escuier],  in  the  Dutch  Church  of  New  York, 
September  22,  1693. 

'  Famille  Rocheloise  (La  France  Protestante).  There  is 
no  evidence  that  Louis  was  related  to  Antoine,  of  La  Ro- 
chelle, who  went  to  South  Carolina.  (See  below.)  But  the 
baptismal  name  Louis  was  frequently  given  in  the  family 
that  remained  in  France. — (Callot,  La  Rochelle  Protestante, 
p.  105.) 

Born  at  Rochell. — (Act  of  Naturalization,  New  York, 
September  27,  1687.)  Boutellier  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  settlement  of  New  Rochelle  :  but  he  left  for  the  island 
of  St.  Christopher,  September,  1690,  and  died  there  in  the 
following  year,  leaving  his  lands  in  the  settlement  to  his 
godchild  Jeanne,  daughter  of  Alexandre  Allaire. — (Town 
Records  of  New  Rochelle.) 


292 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


I  i 


chap^v.    Flandreau,'   Daniel    Gombaud,'  Jean    Hastier,^ 

1681.     Bartholomew  and  Isaac  Mercier,*  Daniel  Ray- 

neau,5    Ambroise    Sicard,^    Andre    and     Peter 

'  Jacque  Flandreaux,  de  la  Rochelle,  married  in  London, 
December  15,  1695,  Madeleine  Mesnard,  de  la  ville  de 
Saintes. — (Registre  des  Baptemes  et  Mariages  dans  I'Eglise 
de  Glass  House  street  et  de  Leicesterfields.  Somerset 
House.)     He  was  in  New  Rochelle  in  1698. 

'•'  Daniel  Gombaud,  born  at  Rochell. — (Act  of  Natural- 
ization, New  York,  September  27,  1687.)  He  settled  in 
New  Rochelle  before  1693.  Like  his  namesake,  perhaps 
kinsman,  Moses  Gombeau,  (see  above,  p.  234)  he  had  resided 
in  Guadeloupe  before  coming  to  America,  He  was  accom- 
panied to  New  York  by  Agnes  Constance  Le  Brun,  "born 
at  Guadeloupe,"  who  afterwards  became  the  second  wife 
of  Gabriel  Le  Boiteux. 

'  John  Hastier,  born  at  Rochell. — (Act  of  Naturalization, 
etc.)  He,  or  another  Jean  Hastier,  had  resided  in  the 
island  of  St,  Christopher.  He  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  New  Rochelle,  but  removed  to  New  York  in  1694  or 
1695,  and  was  made  freeman  of  that  city,  August  26,  1695. 
He  died  about  the  year  1698. 

^  Isaac  Mercier,  born  at  Rochell,  was  naturalized  in  New 
York,  Sept.  27,  1687.  He  had  obtained  denization  the  year 
before,  Sept.  3,  1686. — (Act  of  Naturalization,  etc.)  He 
became  a  leading  member  of  the  settlement  of  New  Ro- 
chelle. Bartholomew,  perhaps  his  brother,  arrived  in  the 
province  two  years  earlier,  coming  from  Boston  "  to  settle 
in  the  city"  of  New  York. 

'  Daniel  Rayneau,  the  ancestor  of  the  Renaud  family  in 
America,  is  believed  to  have  emigrated  from  La  Rochelle. — 
(History  of  Westchester  County,  N.  Y.,  by  the  Rev.  Robert 
Bolton,  Revised  Edition.  Vol.  IL,  page  757.)  He  first 
went  to  Bristol,  England.  A  Bible  in  the  possession  of  one 
his  descendants  contains  this  statement  :  "  M^moire  du  jour 
que  nous  avons  parti  de  Bristol  ce  fut  le  sixieme  d'Avril 
1693." 

"  Ambroise  Sicard  was  a  refugee  from  La  Rochelle — 
(History  of  Westchester  County,  etc.,  IL,  758),  who  came 
to  America  with  his  three  sons,  Ambroise,  Daniel  and 
Jacques.  The  Records  of  the  French  Church  in  New  York 
begin  with  the  entry  of  the  baptism  of  Madelaine,  daughter 
of  Ambroise  Sicard  [junior]  and  Jeanne  Perron,  his  wife, 
November  24,  1688.  The  Sicards  settled  in  New  Rochelle 
as  early  as  the  year  1692. 


IPP! 


mmmmmmmmmp 


■uait 


SETTLERS  IN  ULSTER  COUNTY. 


293 


Thauvet,'  Jacob  Theroulde."  Of  the  settlers 
of  Ulster  County,  New  York,  Jean  and  Etienne 
Gascherie,3  and  Jean  Thevenin,  were  from  La 
Rochelle.  Several  members  of  the  Huguenot 
family  of  L'Hommedieu  fled  from  La  Rochelle 
after  the  Revocation.  Pierre  and  Osee,  or 
Hosea,  were  the  sons  of  Pierre  L'Hommedieu 
and  Marthe  Peron  his  wife.  The  husband  died 
before  the  year  1685.  Marthe  accompanied  her 
children  to  England,  and  came  to  America  with 
Pierre,  who  settled  in  Kingston,  Ulster  County, 
New  York.*    Benjamin  and  John  L'Hommedieu, 

'  Andrew  Thauvet,  born  at  Rochelle,  was  naturalized  in 
New  York,  September  27,  1687. — (Actof  Naturalization,  etc.) 
He  was  one  of  the  first  purchasers  of  land  in  New  Rochelle, 
November  12, 1688,  and  with  Peter  Thauvet  bought  one  thou- 
sand acres,  May  31, 1690.  He  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  December  14,  1689.  Peter  Thauvet,  merchant,  was 
made  freeman  of  the  city  of  New  York,  June  24,  1701.  He 
married  Susanne  Vergereau,  May  29,  1700,  and  died  in  1704. 

"  "  Jacob  Theroulde,  born  at  Rochell,  Sarah,  his  wife, 
Marianne  and  Dorothy,  their  daughters,  born  at  the  island 
of  St.  Christopher's,"  were  naturalized  in  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 27,  1687. — (Act,  etc.)  Theroulde  had  obtained 
denization  in  New  York,  with  liberty  to  trade  or  traffic,  the 
year  before,  June  14,  1686.  He  purchased  lands  in  New 
Rochelle  as  early  as  1690,  but  in  1701  sold  them,  and  went 
back  to  St.  Christopher.  His  wife  Sarah  was  a  daughter  of 
Gerard  and  Allette  Douw,  of  that  island. 

"  Several  of  this  name  are  mentioned  among  the  fugitives 
from  La  Rochelle.  John  and  Stephen,  sons  of  Judith  Gas- 
cherie,  were  naturalized  in  England,  April  15,  1687,  and 
came  to  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  as  early  as  1696. 

*  Marthe  P^ron,  veuve  de  Pierre  L'Hommedieu  ;  29  Sep- 
tembre,  1685.  Os^e  L'Hommedieu  ;  4fevrier,  1685. — (Liste 
des  religionnaires  fugitifs  de  la  Rochelle  dont  les  biens  ont 
ete  saisis  ;  1685-1688.)  Os^e,  goldsmith,  son  of  Pierre  and 
Marthe  L'Hommedieu,  was  in  London  in  1702.  The  will  of 
Pieter  L'Hommedieu,  late  of  Kingstown,  Ulster   County, 


Chap.  V. 
1681. 


294 


-.A  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  m.  "  born  at  Rochell,"  were  naturalized  in  New 
1681.  York,  September  27,  1787.  Benjamin  had  ob- 
tained letters  of  denization  some  months  before. 
He  settled  on  the  east  end  of  Long  Island,  in 
the  village  of  Southold,  and  married  the  daughter 
of  Nathanael  Silvester,  of  Shelter  Island.' 

Of  the  settlers  of  Staten  Island,  several  were 
natives  of  this  city.^  So,  too,  were  Pierre  and 
Moise    Chaille,^  of  Maryland,  Antoine   Duche,* 


New  York,  signed  February  10,  1691-2,  and  proved  March 
30,  1692,  mentions  his  mother  Martha.  (Wills,  Surrogate's 
Office,  New  York;  No.  IV.,  p.  181.)  He  leaves  property 
in  trust  "till  Mr.  August  Jea  [JayJ  doth  returne."  Auguste 
Jay,  his  partner  in  business,  was  then  in  France. 

'Hosea  L'Hommedieu  fled  from  La  Rochelle  several 
months  previous  to  the  flight  of  his  brother  Pierre  and  their 
mother  Marthe.  Perhaps  he  was  accompanied  by  Benjamin 
and  Jean,  who  may  have  been  his  brothers.  The  interesting 
tradition  among  the  descendants  of  Benjamin  L'Homme- 
dieu agrees  perfectly  with  these  facts.  "  Benjamin  and  a 
brother  left  France  together.  Their  widowed  mother  went 
with  them  to  the  shore  at  La  Rochelle,  and  as  a  parting  gift 
confided  to  one  a  Bible,  and  to  the  other  a  silver  watch. 
They  fled  to  Holland,  and  thence  came  to  America.  The 
watch  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Professor  Eben  Norton 
Horsford,  of  Harvard  University."  (Communicated  by  the 
Reverend  A.  S.  Gardiner,  a  descendant  of  Benjamin  L'Hom- 
medieu.) 

A  monument  in  memory  of  Nathanael  Sylvester  has  been 
recently  erected  on  Shelter  Island,  by  the  daughters  of  Pro- 
fessor Horsford,  descendants  of  Benjamin  L'Hommedieu 
and  of  Patience  Sylvester,  his  wife. 

"  Among  them  Etienne  Mahault,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  an  inhabitant  of  St.  Christopher.  He  died  on  Staten 
Island  in  1703. 

'  The  name  occurs  among  the  "  persdcut^s  en  Aunis,"  in 
1681,  under  the  intendant  Demuin. — (Benoist,  V.  1021.) 
La  France  Protestante  mentions  the  famille  de  Challais,  of 
La  Rochelle,  1679.  The  tradition  of  the  Chaill^  family  in 
America  is,  that  Pierre  Chains  escaped  from  La  Rochelle  c 


wmmm 


ANTOINE  PINTARD. 


295 


of  Pennsylvania,  Antoine  Pintard,' of  New  Jer-   chap.  v. 


board  of  an  English  vessel,  and  took  refuge  in  England, 
[where  he  was  naturalized  Sept.  9,  1698,]  that  he  was  the 
spokesman  chosen  by  his  fellow-refugees  to  refuse  a  message 
addressed  to  them  by  Louis  XIV.,  inviting  them  to  return  to 
France  ;  that  he  entered  the  English  navy ;  that  while  in 
England  he  married  a  lady  of  Huguenot  birth,  named  Mar- 
garet Brown  ;  and  that  he  removed  to  America,  establishing 
himself  at  first  in  Boston.  His  son,  Moses  Chaille,  as  early 
as  1 7 10,  was  a  resident  of  Maryland,  where  his  descendants 
are  to  be  found  at  present.  (Communicated  by  Professor 
Stanford  E.  Chaill^,  M.D.,  of  the  University  of  Louisiana.) 

*  Jacques  Duche,  paroisse  St.  Sauveur,  La  Rochelle,  fled 
to  England  in  1682,  with  his  wife  and  eight  children,  and 
his  son-in-law.  He  had  a  house  in  town. — (Arch.  Nat.)  He 
was  naturalized  in  England,  March  8,  1682,  with  his  wife 
Mary,  and  his  sons  Arnold  and  Anthony. 

'  According  to  the  family  tradition,  Antoine  Pintard 
came  from  La  Rochelle.  His  petition  for  denization,  ad- 
dressed in  1691  to  the  governor  and  council  of  New  York, 
"  sheweth,  that  he  being  a  Native  of  the  Kingdome  of 
France,  was  by  the  severity  used  by  that  prince  towards 
those  of  the  Reformed  Churches  oblidged  to  depart  that 
Relme."  Since  that  time,  being  the  space  of  four  years, 
he  has  been  an  inhabitant  of  this  his  Majesty's  government 
of  New  York. — (Historical  Manuscripts  in  the  Office  of  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Vol.  XXXVH.,  page  80.) 
Pintard  first  settled  in  Shrewsbury,  New  Jersey,  then  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  province  of  New  York.  There  his 
house  took  fire,  and  he  lost  all  his  property.  He  removed 
to  the  city  of  New  York,  and  began  life  anew  as  a  merchant. 
He  was  an  Elder  of  the  French  Church  in  New  York,  and 
in  1729  resigned  the  office  of  treasurer  of  the  poor-fund 
(repeveur  des  deniers  des  pauvres)  which  he  had  held  until 
then:  "a  cause  de  son  grand  age."  He  died  about  the 
year  1732. —  (Will  of  Anthony  Pintard,  Senior,  late  of 
Shrewsbury,  but  now  of  the  city  of  New  York  :  dated 
February  4,  1729;  proved  May  11,  1732. — Secretary  of 
State's  Office,  Trenton,  New  Jersey.) 

Anthony  Pintard  left  three  sons — Anthony,  John,  and 
Samuel — and  six  daughters  :  Magdala,  Catharine,  Margaret, 
Isabella,  Florinda,  and  Anna  Frances.  Magdala  married 
James  Hutchins.  (June  30, 1728,  jour  de  I'ascension,  Jacques, 
son  of  Jacques  and  Magd.  Hutchins,  born  in  Shrewsbury, 


1681. 


296 


LA  ROCHELLE. 


Chap.  V.  sey,  Jean  L'Orange,'  and   George  de  Rochelle.' 

1681.     whose  descendants   settled    in   Virginia :    while 

of  the  South  Carolina   Huguenots,  Jeanne  Ber- 

chaud,3  wife  of  Jean  Boyd,   Antoine  Bonneau,* 


New  Jersey,  in  1727,  was  baptized  in  the  French  Church, 
New  York.)  Catharine  married  first  John  Searle,  and 
secondly  the  Rev.  Robert  Jenney.  Margaret  married  Joseph 
Leonard.  Isabella  married  Isaac  Van  Dam.  Florinda 
married  George  S|)encer.  Anna  Frances  married  Moses 
Gombaud.     (See  above,  p.  235.) 

The  marriage  license  of  Anthony  Pintard  (junior?)  and 
Katharine  Staleboth,  of  Neversink  in  East  Jersey,  is  dated 
May  4,  1692. — (Wills,  Surrogate's  Office,  New  York  ;  No. 
IV.,  p.  184.) 

'  La  veuve  du  Sr  Lorange,  paroisse  St.  Sauveur,  La  Ro- 
chelle,  fled  to  England  in  1682,  leaving  "  quelque  bien  en 
Poitou." — (Arch.  N:.l.)  La  veuve  Lorange  and  Jean  Vilas 
L'Orange,  were  inhabitants  of  Manakintown,  Virginia,  1701, 
1 7 14. 

^  George  de  Rochelle,  from  La  Rochelle  or  its  neighbor- 
hood, fled  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  to  the  United  Prov- 
inces, and  thence  came  to  America.  (Tradition.)  George 
Rupell  was  in  South  Carolina  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  A  son  or  grandson  removed  to  Albe- 
marle, Virginia.  Descendants  of  the  emigrant  are  to  be 
found  in  several  of  the  Southern  States. 

'  Jeanne,  femme  de  Jean  Boyd,  fille  de  Elie  Berchaud  de 
la  Rochelle,  inhabitant  of  Santee,  1696. — (Liste  des  Fran- 
9ois  et  Suisses  Refugiez  en  Caroline  qui  souhaittent  d'etre 
naturalizes  Anglais.) 

*  Antoine  Bonnaud,  tonnelier  ;  sa  femme  :  paroisse  St. 
Barthelemy,  La  Rochelle,  fled  in  1685.  Antoine  Bonneau, 
ne  k  la  Rochelle,  fils  de  Jean  Bonneau  et  de  Catherine  Roi, 
and  Catherine  du  Bliss,  his  wife,  applied  to  be  naturalized, 
1696,  with  Antoine  and  Jean-Henri,  leurs  enfans  nez  en 
France.  Jacob,  leur  fils  ne  en  Caroline. — (Liste  des  Fran- 
cois, Refugiez  en  Caroline,  etc.)  Anthony  Bonneau,  senior, 
cooper,  was  "  made  free  of  this  part  of  the  province,"  by 
the  Lords  Proprietors  of  South  Carolina,  March  10,  1697. 
(An  Act  for  making  Aliens  free  of  this  part  of  the  Province, 
and  for  granting  liberty  of  conscience  to  all  Protestants. 
Trott's  Laws  of  South  Carolina,  page  61.) 


MARANS. 


297 


Henri  and  Paul  Bruneau,  Pierre  Buretel,*  Alex-   chap.v. 
andre  and    Henri  Chasteignier,   Cesar  Mauze,'     ,68^r. 
Henri   Peronneau,^  and    Pierre  Videaul,*  came 
also  from  La  Rochelle. 

At  no  great  distance  from  the  city,  and 
within  the  same  territory  of  Aunis,  there  were 
several  smaller  places  inhabited  by  families  that 
subsequently  fled  to  America.  Eleven  miles  to 
the  north-east,  was  the  town  of  Marans,  famous 
in   the  wars  of  the  League.      Completely  sur- 

'  Charles  Burtel,  fugitif  du  d^partement  de  La  Rochelle. 
— (Arch.  Nat.)  His  property  was  seized,  May  4,  1688,  I.e 
Sr.  Pierre  Burtel,  sa  feninie  et  sa  fiUe,  fled  to  Holland  in 
1684. — (Arch.  Nat.)  He  was  naturalized  in  England,  April 
15,  1687.  Pierre  Buretel,  n^  h  la  Rochelle,  fils  de  Charles 
Buretel  et  de  Sara  Bonhier :  Elizabeth  Chintrier  sa  femme. 
— (Liste  des  Francois  et  Suisses  Refugiez  en  Caroline,  etc.) 
Peter  Buretel,  chirurgeon,  was  made  free  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  June  11,  1708.  Marie  Chintrier,  wife  of  Saviott 
Broussard,  alias  Deschamps,  who  obtained  letters  of  deni- 
zation, March  12,  1696  ;  and  Frangoise  Chentrier,  widow  of 
Andr^  Stuckey,  1707,  were  perhaps  of  the  same  family  with 
Buretel's  wife.— (Patents,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  Vol.  VII.,  p.  9. — 
Records  of  the  French  Church  in  New  York.) 

*  Elie  Mauze,  1682,  and  la  veuve  Mauz^,  1684,  both  fled 
from  La  Rochelle  to  England,  (Arch.  Nat.,)  where  Elias 
was  naturalized  in  1682,  and  Caesar  Moze  was  naturalized 
April  15,  1687. — Caesar  Moze  was  in  South  Carolina  in  the 
same  year. 

*  Henri  Peronneau,  n^  c\  la  Rochelle,  filsde  Samuel  Peron- 
neau  et  de  Jeanne  Collin.  (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et  Suisses  Refu- 
giez en  Caroline,  etc.) 

*  Pierre  Videaul,  n^  b.  la  Rochelle,  fils  de  Pierre  Videaul 
et  de  Madelaine  Burgaud,  was  among  the  inhabitants  of 
Santee  who  applied,  about  the  year  1696,  to  be  naturalized  ; 
with  his  wife  Jeanne  Elizabeth  and  their  daughter  Jeanne 
Elizabeth,  born  in  London,  and  with  their  children  Pierre 
Nicholas,  Marianne,  Marthe  Ester,  Judith,  Jeanne  and 
Madelaine,  born  in  Carolina. — (Liste  des  Franfois  et  Suisses 
Refugiez  en  Caroline,  etc.) 


298 


AUNIS. 


Chap.  V.  rounded  by  water,  or  by  salt  marshes,  it  formed 
1681.  a  picturesque  island,  approached  only  from  the 
south-east  by  a  causeway.  Taken  by  the  forces 
of  the  duke  of  Guise,  in  1588,  Marans  was 
retaken  by  Henry  of  Navarre  after  the  battle  of 
Coutras.  When  the  Huguenot  army  was  about 
to  advance  to  the  assault  of  this  place,  the  troops 
kneeled  down,  according  to  their  custom,  in 
prayer.  The  Roman  Catholic  soldiers,  witness- 
ing this  procedure,  exclaimed  :  "  They  are  pray- 
ing to  God  :  now  they  will  beat  us,  just  as  they 
did  at  Coutras !" 

Marans  was  the  home  of  Elie  Boudinot,'  a 
The      prosperous  merchant,  and  an  earnest  adherent 
^'S""  of  the  Protestant  faith.     The    family    to  which 
Creasy,    he   belonged   had    been     identified    for   several 
generations  with  the  Huguenot  cause.     "  Com- 
pelled to  abandon  his  country  in  order  to  avoid 
the  continual   persecution  to  which  he  was  sub- 
jected because  of  his  profession  of  the  Gospel," 
Boudinot  came  to  America,  where  his  descend- 
ants have  been  conspicuous  for  their  fidelity  to 
the  same  principles,  and  their  zeal    in  spreading 
them.^ 

'  Seigneur  de  Cressy :  so  designated  on  the  fly-leaf  of  a 
book  of  his,  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 

*  The  will  of  Elias  Boudinot  is  recorded  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  and  contains  some  interesting  particulars. 

Au  nom  de  Dieu  amen.  Je  soubsign^  Elie  Boudinot 
marchant  demeurantcydevant  a  Marant  au  gouvernement  de 
La  Rochelle  en  France  ayant  est^  constraint  d'abandonner 
ma  patrie  pour  eviter  la  continuelle  persecution  quon  me 
fezait  pour  la  profession  de  I'Evangille  mestent  retire  en  ce 

lieu  avecq  Suzanne  Papin  ma  femme  et  nos  enfans Je 

■    recomande  mon  ame  a  la  sainte  et  Glorieuse  Trinitd   au 


ELIE  BOUDINOT'S  WILL. 


299 


Benon  and  Mauze,  villages  lying  east  of  La   Chap.  v. 


Pere  qui  I'a  cr^e  au  Fils  ([ui  la  rachettee  et  au  Saint  Esprit 
quy  la  illumin^e  et  santiffiee  Desclarant  que  jc  veux  vivre 
et  mourir  en  la  creance  et  profession  de  hi  religion  reformee 
en  latiuelle  jay  este  par  la  grace  de  Dieu  esleve  et  men 
corps  estre  jnhume  duement  Et  comme  par  le  contract  de 
mariage  entre  la  ditte  Suzanne  Papin  ma  femme  et  nioy 
passe  par  Andre  Mucot  nottaire  royal  a  Londre  le  onziesnie 
novambre  mil  six  cent  quatre  vingt-six  ma  ditte  femme  ap- 
portionna  Benjamin  et  Suzanne  D'hariette  ses  Enfans  Cha- 
cun  cent  soixante  huit  livres  sterlin  payable  par  moy  on 
mes  heritliers  lorscjuils  seront  en  age  ou  pourveus  par 
mariage  Jay  satisfait  a  la  dite  cloize  ayant  paye  a  deffunt 
Pierre  Bellin  marit  [mari]  de  la  ditte  Suzanne  D'hariette, 
168^  sterlin  suivant  leurs  quittance  deux  sign^e  Jay  aussy 
paye  au  dit  Benjamin  D'hariette  pareille  somme  de  cent 
soixante  huit  livre  sterlin  suivant  sa  (juittance  les  dittes 
deux  sommes  payee  en  argent  de  ce  lieu  aveccj  le 
change  suivant  le  cours.  Comme  il  a  pleu  a  Dieu  me 
donner  de  mon  present  mariage  quatre  enfans  qui  sont 
Jean  Benjamin  Madelaine  et  Suzanne  Boudinot  Je  desclare 
Suzanne  ma  femme  leurs  mere  Tutrice  et  Curatrisse  laquelle 
je  laisse  dame  et  maitresse  de  tous  generallement  les  biens 
meubles  marchandize  argant  debtes  et  tous  effects  quy  se 
trouveront  mapartenir  a  la  charge  de  donner  a  chacun  de 
mes  dits  enfans  Jean,  Benjamin,  Madelaine  et  Susanna 
Boudinot  la  somme  de  deux  cents  cinquante  livres  argent  de 
ce  lieu  et  cella  lors  quils  seront  en  age  ou  pourveus  par 
mariage  a  quoy  je  les  apotionne  chascun  et  herittiers  les 
ungs  des  autres  et  comme  Elie  Boudinot  mon  fils  est  de  mon 
premier  mariage  quy  depuis  quelque  temps  cest  mari^  et  en 
consideration  de  son  dit  mariage  je  luy  ay  donne  trois  cent 
livres  argent  courant  de  ce  lieu  partye  an  faveur  comme 
herritier  de  deffunte  Janice  Barand  ma  femme  sa  mere  pour 
sa  potion  quy  luy  venoit  de  reste  des  effects  quil  avoit  plut 
a  Dieu  me  faire  la  grace  de  retirer  de  France  et  comme 
aprez  ma  mort  mon  dit  fils  Elie  demanderoit  a  venir  a  par- 
tager  tant  avecq  la  ditte  Suzanne  ma  femme  quavecq  ses 
autres  freres  et  soeurs  de  mon  dit  present  mariage  dans  tous 
les  effets  qui  je  peus  laisser  pour  eviter  tous  troubles  em- 
baras  ou  contestation  qui  pouroit  survenir  dans  le  dit  par- 
tage  je  veux  et  ordonne  que  la  ditte  Suzanne  ma  femme 
paye  trois  mois  apres  mon  deceds  a  mon  dit  fils  Elie  Bou- 
dinot la  somme  de  cent  cinquante  livres  argent  de  ce  lieu 


1681 


300 


AUNIS. 


chap.v.   Rochelle,'  are   noticeable   as  the  places  where 

1681.     three   Huguenot    families  transplanied  to  New 

York,  originated.     Mauze  was  the  home  of  Louis 


ayaiit  cours  et  ce  pour  touttes  succession  et  pretention  u£ 
tous  les  meubles  marchandize  argent  debtes  et  autres  effects 
genenllenient  quy  se  trouveront  a  moy  apartenir  et  apres  la 
ditto  somme  de  cent  cinquante  livres  payee  mon  dit  fils  ne 
poura  faire  aucune  demande  a  la  ditte  Suzanne  ma  femnie 
ny  a  ses  freres  et  soeurs  soubs  quelque  pretexte  de  succession 
que  ce  soitt. — Et  comnie  j'ay  laisse  du  bien  en  France  et 
autres  effets  suivant  les  contracts  obligation  promesse  et 
billets  et  par  mes  livres  de  conte  le  tout  laisse  entre  les  mains 
de  deffunt  mon  nepveur  Jean  Boudinot  marchant  a  Marenes 
avecq  ma  procuration  generalle  pour  agir  pour  moy  et 
pour  retirer  de  mes  effets  ce  quil  pouroit  en  cas  de 
quelque  Remize  !e  tout  sera  partage  par  mes  dits  en- 
fans  du  premier  et  segond  lit  par  egalle  portions  et 
sil  plaisoit  a  Dieu  Comme  je  len  prie  de  tout  mon  coeur 
de  restablir  en  France  la  liberte  de  nostre  sainte  reli- 
gion et  que  mes  dits  enfans  y  retournasse  ils  partageront 
entreux  tous  les  biens  meubles  et  Immeubles  quy  se  trouv- 
eront a  moy  apartenir  et  ce  par  egalle  portion  se  sont  la  mes 
derniere  vollontes  et  Intention  voullant  et  entandant  quelle 
sortes  leurs  plain  et  entier  effet  et  pour  plus  forte  execution 
dicelle  jay  nomme  pour  executeur  et  administrateur  et  ])our 
faire  valloir  mon  dit  present  testament  monsieur  Paul 
Drouilhet  mon  bon  amy  marchant  en  ce  lieu  Iccpiel  je  prie 
daccepter  cette  commission  comme  len  jugant  trcs  digne  et 
capable  et  de  le  faire  executeur  en  tous  ses  points  contre 
tous  et  envers  tous  revoquant  par  ce  mien  dit  present  Tes- 
tament tous  ceus  quy  se  pouront  trouver  cy  devant 
faits  par  moy  en  foy  de  quoy  jay  escrit  cc  present  signe  de 
ma  main  cell6  de  mon  cacliet  en  presence  des  tesmoings 
sousignes  a  New  York  le  quatorziesme  novembre  milcept- 
cent ....  Eslie  Boudinot.  Tesmoins  Gabriel  Broussard 
Henry  Pichot, 

Proved  October  26,  1702. 

Record  of  Wills,  VII.,  pp.  35-36. 

'  Benon,  sixteen  miles  from  La  Rochelle,  is  now  a  village 
of  a  thousand  inhabitants.  Mauze,  with  eighteen  hundred 
inhabitants,  lies  seven  miles  further  east. 


-!._ 


J- 


THE  GALLAUDETS. 


301 


Guion,'  and  of    Pierre  Elisee  Gallaudet ; "   and    caiap.  v. 


'  Louis  Guion,  of  Moz^*  [Mauz(^']  en  Aunis,  and  Marie 
Morin,  his  wife,  presented  their  son  Louis,  born  August  21, 
1694,  for  baptism  in  the  French  church  in  Glasshouse  street, 
London. — (Rogistre,  etc.,  in  the  custody  of  the  Registrar- 
General,  Somerset  House.)  Louis  Guion,  who  bought  land 
in  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  in  1690,  was  doubtless  related  to 
him.  The  family  tradition  represents  that  he  came  from  La 
Rochelle,  and  that  his  son  Louis,  twelve  years  of  age  in 
1698,  (census  of  New  Rochelle,)  was  born  at  sea. 

"  A  memorandum,  partly  undecipherable,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Gallaudet  family  in  America,  states  that  "  Peter 
Elisha  Gallaudet"  was  "  born  in  Moz6  [Mauze],  pays  d'Au- 
nis,  seven  leagues  from  oid  Rochelle  and  fnur  from  Niort 
en  Poitou.  His  estate  between  his  sister  *  *  *  the  name 
of  the  place  called  3  Punall  [?]  h  Saint  Gelais  between  Niort 
and  Surin.  His  father's  name  Joshua  Gallaudet,  born  and 
bred  at  Mos(3.  His  mother's  name  Margaret  Prioleau, 
daughter  to  Elisha  [Elisee]  Prioleau,  minister  of  Exou- 
dun    *    *    *" — Communicated  by  E.  M.  Gallaudet,  LL.D. 

Elisee  Prioleau  was  the  son  of  Elisee,  minister  of  Niort, 
1639-1650.  He  was  minister  of  Exoudun,  Poitou,  1649- 
1663. — (Lievre,  Hist,  des  prot.  et  des  (*glises  ref.  du  Poitou, 
HL,  288,  306.)  Samuel,  a  younger  son  of  the  pastor  of 
Niort,  was  minister  of  Pons  in  Saintonge,  from  1650  to  1683. 
He  was  succeeded  in  that  charge  by  his  son  Elie  Prioleau, 
who  came  after  the  Revocation  with  some  members  of  his 
flock  to  Charleston,  S.  C. 

Dr.  Pierre  Elisee  Gallaudet  was  a  resident  of  New  Ro- 
chelle, N.  Y.,  as  early  as  the  year  17 11.  Several  01  his  des- 
cendants have  illustrated  the  name  by  their  distinguished 
philanthropic  services,  particularly  in  ])romoting  the  im- 
provement of  the  condition  of  deaf-mutes.  'I'he  Rev. 
Thomas  Hopkins  Gallaudet,  LL.D.,  founder  of  the  first  insti- 
tution in  America  for  the  instruction  of  the  deaf  and 
dumb,  (born  in  Philadelphia,  Dec.  10,  1787,  died  in 
Hartford,  Conn.,  September  9,  185 1,)  was  the  great- 
grandson  of  the  fiuguenot  emigrant.  Two  of  his  sons,  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Gallaudet,  D.I).,  Rector  of  St.  Ann's  Church 
for  Deaf-Mutes,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  Edward 
Miner  Gallaudet,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  President  and  Professor  of 
Moral  and  Political  Science,  National  Deaf-Mufe  College, 
Washington,  D.  C,  continue  the  good  work  with  which  their 
father's  memory  is  honorably  associated. 


i68i. 


I* 


302 


AUNIS. 


Chap.  V.   Benon,  that  of  Pierre  Vergereau  and  his  brother 

1681.     Jean.' 

Off  the  coast  of  Aunis,  and  nearly  opposite 
the  city  of  La  Rochelle,  lies  the  island  of  Re,  a 
spot  that  may  be  said  to  rival  that  city  in  its 
claim  upon  the  attention  of  Americans  of  Hu- 
guenot descent :  for  it  was  the  native  place,  or  the 
place  of  refuge,  of  many  families  that  ultimately 
found  their  way  to  the  New  World.  The  Isle  of 
Re  is  but  sixteen  miles  long,  with  an  average 
breadth  of  less  than  three  miles.  Its  principal 
towns  are  St.  Martin,  La  Flotte,  and  Ars. 
Like  the  main  shore,  from  which  it  is  separated 
only  by  the  narrow  strait  of  Perthuis,^  the 
land  is  low  and  sandy,  and  abounds  in  briny 
lagoons  and  marshes,  that  yield  rich  supplies  of 
sea-salt,  and  furnish  employment  to  many  of 
the  inhabitants.  At  the  time  of  the  Revoca- 
tion, the  population  of  the  Isle  of  Re  was  al- 
most wholly   Protestant.3     The    fishermen   and 

'  Jean  Vergereau,  natif  de  Benon  en  Aunis,  married 
Marie  Mahault,  in  the  French  church  in  New  York,  June  16, 
1697.  Pierre,  apparently  his  brother,  was  a  witness  to  the 
marriage.  His  son  Pierre,  goldsmith,  became  prominent  in 
the  affairs  of  the  French  church,  and  was  an  elder  in  1740 
and  long  after.     He  married  Susanne  Boudinot. 

'  At  the  narrowest  part,  this  channel  is  little  more  than 
two  miles  in  width. 

'  The  inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Re,  at  the  present  day, 
are  in  large  proportion  descended,  it  may  be  presumed, 
from  the  "  nouveaux  convertis,"  or  the  nominally  converted 
Protestants,  who  remained  in  the  country  after  the  Revoca- 
tion of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  They  are  said  to  exhibit 
marked  traits  of  character,  which  we  may  peril aps  regard 
as  indicative,  in  some  measure,  of  their  Huguenot  origin. 
"  Tr^s-sobre,   travailleur  acharn^,   appr^ciant  et    d^sirant 


THE  ISLE  OF  Rt. 


303 


seamen  and  salters  of  this  region  had  been 
among  the  earliest  converts  to  the  evangelical 
faith,  a  century  and  a  half  before  :  and  their  se- 
clusion and  obscurity  had  shielded  them  in  a 
measure  from  molestation  on  account  of  their 
belief.  Of  late,  also,  many  Huguenots  of  means, 
leavine  their  abodes  in  the  interior  of  the 
country,  had  sought  this  island  as  a  retreat 
where  they  might  hope  to  escape  observation, 
and  whence,  if  need  there  should  be,  they  might 
wing  their  flight  to  a  friendlier  shore  beyond 
seas.  This  fact  serves  to  explain  the  presence 
of  some  persons,  concerning  whom  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  they  had  come  from  the 
neighboring  provinces  of  Poitou,  Saintonge,  and 
Angoumois,  to  sojourn  here. 

Amoncr  the  French  Protestants  who  came  to 
Boston,  in  Massachusetts,  was  Adam  De  Che- 
zeau,'  a  native  of  the  Isle  of  Re.    Ezechiel  Carre, 


Chap.  V. 

1681. 


rinstruction,  le  paysan  retais,"  writes  an  intelligent  observer, 
"  est  estimable  entre  tons.  Plus  que  tout  autre  habitant 
natif  d'une  petite  ile,  il  a  la  volonte  et  I'aptitude  de  tout  faire 
par  lui-meme  :  il  est  a  la  fois  marin,  pccheur,  cultivateur, 
saulnier,  vigneron,  ma^on,  charpentier.  A  premiere  vue,  on 
peut  sourire  de  quelques-unes  de  ses  habitudes  :  apres 
reflexion  on  y  reconnait  I'empreinte  de  veritables  et  rares 
qualitcs.  Vraiment  bon,  il  menage  les  animaux  qui  I'aident 
a  son  travail  an  point  de  les  gater  et  de  les  rendre  volon- 
taires  et  ombrageux  comme  des  enfants  trop  aimes." — (D. 
Lancelot  :  La  Rochelle  et  son  arrondissemcnt.  La  Ro- 
chelle  :  1877.     Pp.  43,  44.) 

'  De  Chezeaux,  famille  originaire  de  1'  ile  de  Re. — (Bul- 
letin historique  et  litteraire  :  Societe  de  I'histoire  du  protes- 
tantisme  frangais.  Vol.  XXIV.,  pp.  477,  526.)  Adam  de 
Chezeau,  mariner,  with  others,  "  forced  to  leave  their  native 
country  of  France  on  account  of  the  Prottstant  religion,  for 
which"  they  "have  been  greatly  persecuted  and  distressed," 


304 


AUNIS. 


Chap.  V.  the  pastor  of  the  Narragansett  colony,'  and  Pierre 
1681.  and  Daniel  Ayrault,''  who  accompanied  him, 
were  from  the  same  place.  Nicolas  Filoux,^ 
and  Paul  Collin, ■♦  ancestors  of  families  that 
settled  in  Connecticut,  were  inhabitants  of  the 
island.  In  New  York,  Pierre  and  Abraham 
Jouneau,s    Ezechiel    Barbauld,^    Elie   and  Guil- 

petitioned  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  for  deniza- 
tion in  February,  1731. —  (Mass.  Archives,  Vol.  XI.,  p.  488.) 
'  Ezechiel  Carreus,  Retensis,  was  admitted  in  1670  to  the 
study  of  philosophy  and  theology  in  the  Academie  of  Gen- 
eva.— (Livre  du  Recteur :  Catalogue  des  Etudiants  de 
r Academie  de  Geneve,  de  1559  a    1859.     Geneve,    i860. 

'  Pierre  Ayiault,  fugitif  de  I'ile  de  Re.  (Archives  Nat., 
Tt.  n°-  259.)     But  see  below. 

'  Nicolas  Pierre  Filoux  fled  from  the  Isle  of  Re  in  1685. 
(Arch.  Nat.)  Nicolas  Fillou,  natif  de  I'lle  de  Re  en  France, 
died  in  New  York,  March  i,  1690. —  (Records of  the  French 
Church  in  New  York.)  Pierre,  perhaps  a  son  of  Nicolas, 
was  in  New  York  in  1697  :  possibly  the  ancestor  of  the 
Fillou  or  Philo  family  of  Norwalk,  Connecticut,  reputed  to 
be  of  Huguenot  descent. 

*  Paul  Collin  and  his  wife  fled  from  the  Isle  of  Re  in  i6r3 
to  Dublin,  Ireland. — (Arch.  Nat  )  Paul  Collin,  one  of  the 
settlers  of  Narragansett  in  1686,  was  probably,  like  Pierre, 
who  settled  in  South  Carolina,  a  son  of  Jean  Collin  and  Ju- 
dith Vasleau  of  the  Isle  of  Re.  (He  was  s])onsor  at  the 
baptism  of  a  child  of  Pierre  Valleau,  in  New  York,  July  19, 
1721.)  Paul  appears  to  have  removed  to  Milford,  Connec- 
ticut, after  the  breaking  up  of  the  Narragansett  colony,  and 
was  probably  the  father  of  John  Collin,  born  in  1706,  ances- 
tor of  the  Hon.  John  F.  Collin,  of  Hillsdale,  N.  Y. 

'  Peter  Jouneau,  born  at  the  Isle  of  Re,  was  naturalized 
in  New  York,  September  27,  1687.  Abraham  Jouneau  was 
one  of  the  fugitifs  de  I'lle  de  Re. — (Arch.  Nat.)  He  was 
made  a  freeman  of  the  city  of  New  York  in  1701,  and  was 
an  Elder  of  the  French  Church  in  1724.  Philip  Jouneau 
was  made  a  freeman  in  1702.  Was  he  a  son  of  Philippe 
Jouneau,  pasteur  h  Barbezieu.x,  Angoumois,  en  1682  ? 

"  Ezekiel  Barbauld  was  naturalized  in  New  York,  Septem- 
ber 21,  1728,  and  made  free  of  the  city  in  the  same  year. 


PWpaRw^wwiippipBBiw 


EMIGRANTS  FROM  THE  ISLE  OF  Rt.     305 

laume  Cothoneau,'  Etienne  Valleau,'  Marie  Dii 
Tay,  wife  of  Jean  Coulon,  and  Jeanne  Du  Tay, 
wife  of  Jacques  Targ^,^  Ren^  Rezeau/  Jacques 

Possibly  a  son  of  Ezechiel  Barbauld,  natif  de  St.  Martin 
dans  I'ile  de  Re,  pastor  of  several  of  the  French  churches  in 
London. 

'  Elie  Cottoneau,  Guillaume  Cottoneau,  fugitifs  de  ITle 
de  Re,  (Arch.  Nat.)  were  among  the  principal  settlers  of 
New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  1694. 

"  Estienne  Vasleau,  marchand,  fled  from  the  Isle  of  R^  in 
1682  to  England. — (Arch.  Nat.)  Estienne  Vallos,  Mary, 
his  wife,  Estienne,  junior,  Arnaud,  their  sons  :  Sarah  and 
Mary,  daughters,  born  at  the  Isle  of  Re,  were  naturalized  in 
New  York,  September  27,  1687. — (Act.)  Etienne  Valleau, 
probably  the  son,  settled  in  Kingston,  Ulster  County,  N.  Y. 

Esaie  Valleau,  who  settled  in  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  was 
probably  related  to  Etienne.  He  was  also  from  the  Isle  of 
Re. — (Arch.  Nat.)  The  name  is  still  extant  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  Isaiah  Valleau  died  in  that  city,  December 
26,  1875,  at  the  house  of  his  son,  Henry  Valleau,  aged 
seventy-four  years. 

'  Marie  du  Tay,  de  I'ile  de  R6,  was  married,  April  27, 
1692,  in  the  French  Church  in  New  York,  to  Jean  Coulon. 
Jeanne  du  Tay,  wife  uf  Jacques  Targ^.  "  Dutaies,"  fugitif 
de  I'ile  de  R6.     (Arch.  Nat.) 

*  Rene  Rezeau,  ma^on,  of  the  Isle  of  R^,  with  his  wife 
[Anne  Coursier],  fled  in  1685,  "^la  Caroline." — (Arch  Nat.) 
They  presented  their  daughter  Ester  for  baptism  in  the 
French  Church  in  Nev/  York,  January  i,  1689.  Jacques 
Kezeau,  de  St.  Martin  en  R^,  was  married  in  that  Church, 
March  10,  1705,  to  Marie  Contesse.  Rene  settled  on  Staten 
Island.  Several  of  the  earlier  settlers  of  Staten  Island  were 
were  also  natives  of  the  Isle  of  R6.  Among  these  were 
Jean  Belleville,  of  St.  Martin  en  Re,  and  perhaps  Francois 
Martineau — an  Isle  of  R^  name — who  became  members  of 
the  Dutch  Church  in  New  York,  July  28,  1670;  (Harlem, 
Its  Origin  and  Annals,  by  James  Riker,  p.  301  ; )  Jacques 
Guion,  of  St.  Martin's  en  R^,  who  received  a  grant  of 
land  on  Staten  Island  in  1664,  (Ibid.  p.  20,)  and  Paul  Re- 
grenie,  who  obtained  a  grant  in  1674. — (Marie  Regreny,  of 
St.  Martin  en  I'ile  de  Re  ;  register  of  marriages  in  Leicester 
Fields  Chapel,  London.) 


Chap.  V. 
1681. 


i 


3o6 


AUNIS. 


chap.v.   Erouard,'    EHe   Mestayer,='    Daniel    Jouet    and 

i68^[.     Marie  Coursier,  his  wife,^  Jacques  Bertonneau," 

Jean,  Fran9ois,  Ester,  and   Madeleine  Vincent,^ 

'  Jacques  Erouard,  de  I'ile  de  R^,  and  Elizabeth  Brigaud 
his  wife  ;  and  Marie  Eroiiard,  de  Tile  de  R^,  wife  of  Jean 
Brigaud,  were  in  London,  1695,  1697. — (Registers,  etc., 
Somerset  House.)  Jacques  Eroiiard  and  Jeanne  Jabouin  his 
wife  presented  their  children  for  baptism  in  the  French 
Church,  New  York,  1755-1 763.  Charles  Erouard  and  Es- 
ter Coutant  his  wife,  were  members  of  the  French  Church, 
New  Rochelle,  1759-1/61.  The  name  has  been  transformed 
into  Heroy. 

"  Francois  and  Philippe  Metayer,  fugitifs  de  I'lle  de  R^. — 
(Arch.  Nat.)  Francois  Mestayer,  de  I'lle  de  Re,  aged  sev- 
enty-eight years,  received  aid  from  the  Royal  Bounty  fund, 
in  London,  1705.  Elie  Mestayer,  sponsor  at  the  baptism  of 
Abraham  Jouneau's  child,  French  Church  in  New  York, 
March  20,  1720. 

'  Daniel  Jouet,  fils  de  Daniel  Jouet  at  d'EHzabeth  Jouet, 
natif  de  I'isle  de  Re  •  et  Marie  Coursier  sa  femme,  fille  de 
Jehan  Coursier  et  de  Anne  Perrotau. — (Liste  des  Francois 
et  Suisses  Refugiez  en  Caroline,  etc.)  Their  children  Dan- 
iel and  Pierre  were  born  in  that  island.  A  daughter  Marie 
was  born  in  Plymouth,  England.  Two  sons,  Ez^chiel  and 
Jean,  and  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Anne,  were  bap- 
tized in  the  French  Church,  New  York.  Jouet  was  one  of 
the  Narragansett  colonists.  He  removed  to  New  York,  and 
thence  to  South  Carolina. 

*  "  Mr  Bertonneau,"  a  member  of  the  French  Church  in 
New  York,  received  assistance  in  1694.  Sara  Bertonneau, 
n^e  en  I'isle  de  R6,  widow  of  Elie  Jodon  and  wife  of  Pierre 
Michaud,  was  in  South  Carolina  in  1696. 

'  Madeleine  Vincent,  wife  of  Jean  Pelletreau,  was  "born 
at  St.  Martins." — (Act  of  Naturalization,  New  York,  1687.) 
Her  brothers  Jean  and  Francois,  sailmakers,  came  to  New- 
York  at  the  same  time.  Fran9ois  Vincent,  voilier,  who  fled 
to  England  in  1681,  was  of  Soubise. —  (Arch.  Nat.)  He  had 
probably  pursued  his  trade  in  that  place,  twenty  miles  south 
of  La  Rochelle,  previous  to  his  flight.  Fran9ois  was  natu- 
ralized in  England,  March  21,  1682,  and  a  week  later  he 
sailed  from  London  with  his  wife  Anne  Guerry  and  his 
children  Anne  and  Fran9oise  for  America. 


"•f 


EMIGRANTS  FROM  THE  ISLE  OF  r£.     3^7 

Olivier    Besly,'    Gregoire  Goujon,*  Marie    Gal-   ciujp^'?. 
lais,3  Pierre  and   Daniel  Bontecou,*  were  natives     1681. 

'  Besly,  famille  protestante  de  la  Rochelle  et  de  I'lle  de 
R^. — (La  France  Protestante.)  Jean  and  Etienne  Besly, 
fugitifs  de  I'isle  de  R^. — (Arch.  Nat.)  Oliver  Besly  was 
one  of  the  leading  inhabitants  of  New  Rochelle,  N.  Y.,  in 
1694. 

''  Grdgoire  Gougeon  was  among  the  "  persecutez  en  Sain- 
tonge,  Aunix,  He  de  R^  et  environs,"  mentioned  by  Benoist, 
Histoire  de  I'Edit  de  Nantes,  Vol.  IV.,  p.  102 1.  Gregoire 
Goujon,  fugitif  de  I'lle  de  R^. — (Arch.  Nat.)  A  merchant 
of  New  York,  and  a  member  of  the  French  Church  in  that 
city  in  1701.  His  wife  was  Ren^e  Marie  Graton.  He 
bought  land  in  New  Rochelle,  May  30,  1701.  His  daugh- 
ter, Renee  Marie,  became  the  second  wife  of  pasteur  Louis 
Rou,  of  New  York,  November  3,  17 13. 

'  Jean  Galais,  fugitif  de  ITle  de  R^. — (Arch,  Nat.)  John 
Gallais,  and  Mary  his  wife  were  naturalized  in  England  in 
1686.  La  veuve  Galay  was  one  of  the  colonists  of  Narra- 
gansett.     Marie  Gallais,  French  Church  in  New  York,  1691. 

*  Pierre  Bondecou,  sa  femme,  cinq  enfans,  fugitifs  de  I'lle 
de  R^,  had  gone,  it  was  supposed,  to  "  la  Caroline,"  in  1684. 
(Arch.  Nat.)  They  were  in  New  York  as  early  as  July  24, 1689, 
when  Pierre  Bontecou  and  his  wife  Marguerite  presented  their 
daughter  Rachel  for  baptism  in  the  French  Church.  Daniel 
Bontecou,  undoubtedly  the  son  of  Pierre,  was  born  about 
the  year  1681,  and  died  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  Novem- 
ber, 1773,  aged  ninety-two.  "This  gentleman,"  writes  M. 
du  Simiti^re,  "  I  knew  very  well  for  many  years.  In  the 
summer  of  the  year  1770,  being  in  company  with  him,  he 
told  me  that  he  was  born  at  La  Rochelle  from  the  descend- 
ant of  the  famous  Dutch  navigator  Bontecoe  [Bontekoe], 
that  his  parents  fled  from  France  for  the  sake  of  religion 
when  he  was  an  infant,  that  they  went  to  England,  and  soon 
after  came  to  New  York,  that  he  had  then  resided  there 
eighty-two  years.  Mr.  Bontecoe  was  for  many  years  an  El- 
der of  the  French  Church  in  New  York,  and  at  the  above- 
mentioned  time  enjoyed  good  health,  sound  judgment,  and 
tolerable  memory." — (Du  Simiti^re  MSB.,  Philadelphia 
Library  Company.)  The  descendants  of  Pierre  Bontecou 
are  numerous,  and  are  to  be  found  chiefly  in  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  family  is  at  present  represented  by  Charles 
Hubbard  Bontecou,  Esq.,  of  Lansingburgh,  N.  Y.,  and 
others. 


3o8 


AUNIS. 


Chap.  V.  of  the  Isle  of  R6.  The  families  of  Rappe  '  and 
i68i.  Ribouleau,"  in  Pennsylvania,  originated  in  the 
same  locality.  Of  the  settlers  of  Manakin- 
town,  Virginia,  Paul  Bernard,^  Janvier*  and 
Abraham  Salle,^  were  natives  of  Re.  And  o( 
the   Huguenots  who   went   to  South  Carolina, 


'  Gabriel  Rappe  fils,  fugitif  de  I'lle  de  Re,  had  fled,  it 
was  thought — between  1681  and  1685 — to  "la  Caroline." — 
(Arch.  Nat.)  He  was  in  Pennsylvania  in  1683,  when  Capt. 
Gabriel  Rappe,  with  others,  promised  allegiance  to  the  king 
and  fidelity  and  lawful  obedience  to  William  Penn,  proprie- 
tor and  governor. — (Penn.  Archives,  Vol.  I.,  p.  26.)  Gabriel 
Rappe  was  naturalized,  July  2,  1684. 

'  Nicolas  Ribouleau,  who  appeared  before  the  provincial 
council  at  the  same  time  with  Rappe,  was  doubtless  from 
the  same  place.  Several  refugees  of  this  name  are  men- 
tioned, as  fugitives  from  the  isle  of  R^. 

*  Paul  Bernard  le  jeune,  sa  femme,  deux  enfans,  fugitifs 
de  I'ile  de  Re,  1685,  were  believed  to  have  gone  to  "  la  Car- 
oline." Joseph  Bernard  and  wife  were  among  the  settlers 
of  Manakintown,  Virginia,  1701. 

*  Philippe  Janvier,  sa  femme,  trois  enfans,  fled  to  En- 
gland from  the  He  de  R^  in  1683. — (Arch.  Nat.)  Pierre 
Janvier  and  Marie  Boynaux  were  married  in  the  Swallow 
Street  French  Church,  London,  December,  1711. — (Registre, 
etc.)  "  Thomas  Janvier,  the  ancestor  of  the  families  of 
this  name  in  this  country,  was  a  Huguenot." — (An  Address, 
embracing  the  Early  History  of  Delaware,  and  the  Settle- 
ment of  its  Boundaries,  and  of  the  Drawyers  Congregation. 
By  Rev.  George  Foot.  Philadelphia,  1842,  p.  56.)  He 
was  living  in  the  town  of  New  Castle,  Delaware,  as  early 
as  1707. — (Historical  Sketch  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  New  Castle,  Delaware.  By  the  Rev.  J.  B.  Spotswood, 
D.D.     Pp.  15,  21.) 

"  "  Abraham  Salle,  son  of  John  Salle,  by  Mary  his  wife  : 
born  at  Saint  Martins  in  France,"  petitioned  the  governor 
and  council  for  denization,  New  York,  1700.  The  children 
of  Abraham  Sall^  and  Olive  Perault  his  wife,  baptized  in 
the  French  Church,  New  York,  were  Abraham,  born  Octo- 
ber 31,  1700,  and  Jacob,  born  July  28,  1701.  Sall^  re- 
moved to  Manakintown,  Virginia. 


Itt>l 


'illltil 


EMIGRANTS  FROM  THE  ISLE  OF  Rt.     309 

Jacques   and   Jean    Barbot,'    Moise    Le    Brun,-   chap.v. 
Daniel  Gamier,  and  Elizabeth  Fanton  his  wife,^     j^j  • 


'  "Jacques  Barbot,  Marchand  ;  sa  femme ;  1685  ;  a  la 
Caroline.  Jean  Barbot." — (Archives  Nationales,  Tt.,  n°- 
259.)  I  have  not  met  these  names  among  those  of  the 
refugees  in  America  ;  nor  that  of  "  le  sieur  Laboureur  :  sa 
femme  et  ses  enfans,"  who  is  also  represented  as  having  fled 
from  the  Isle  de  Re  in  1685,  and  as  having  gone  to  "la  Car- 
oline." 

'  Moyse  Le  Brun,  n^  a  I'isle  de  Re,  fils  de  Moyse  Le 
Brun  et  de  Marie  Tauvron. — (Liste  des  Francois  et  Suisses 
Refugiez  en  Caroline.)  La  veuve  Le  Brun  was  aided  by 
the  French  Church  in  New  York,  and  she  and  her  son  were 
sent  to  Carolina,  their  passage  being  paid,  Sept.  12,  1694. 
— (Records  of  the  French  Church  in  New  York.) 

Agnes  Constance  Le  Brun,  "born  at  Guadaloupe,"  was 
naturalized  in  New  York  in  1687,  together  with  Daniel 
Gombaud  and  his  wife. — (Act  of  Naturalization,  N.  Y.) 
She  lived  for  some  time  in  New  Rochelle,  probably  with 
Gombaud,  who  may  have  been  her  guardian  :  and  was  re- 
ceived a  member  of  the  Dutch  Church  of  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 14,  169 1,  by  certificate  from  the  French  Church  in 
New  Rochelle. — (Records  of  the  Reformed  Protestant 
Dutch  Church,  City  of  New  York.     Liber  A.) 

*  Daniel  Gamier,  Marchand  :  sa  femme,  six  enfans,  et 
Rachel  Fanton  sa  soeur,  sortis  de  I'lsle  de  Re  en  1685  ;  lieu 
de  leur  retraite,  la  Caroline. — (Archives  Nationales.)  Dan- 
iel Gamier,  n^  en  I'lsle  de  R^,  fils  de  Daniel  Garnier  et  de 
Marie  Chevallier ;  Elizabeth  Fanton,  sa  femme  ;  Etienne, 
Rachel,  Margueritte,  Anne,  leurs  enfans  nez  en  I'lsle  de 
Re  :  inhabitants  of  Santee  in  1696. — (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et 
Suisses  Refugiez  en  Caroline.)  An  older  daughter  had  mar- 
ried Daniel  Horry,  since  deceased.  Elizabeth  Garnier, 
veuve  Daniel  Horry,  fille  de  Daniel  Garnier  et  de  Elizabeth 
Fanton,  native  de  I'lsle  de  R^.  Elizabeth  Marye,  Lidie 
Marye,  fiUes  de  Daniel  Horry  et  de  la  ditte  Elizabeth  Gar- 
nier, neez  en  Caroline. — (Id.) 

Isaac  Garnier,  cordwainer,  perhaps  also  of  the  Isle  of 
R^,  if  not  related  to  the  above,  was  a  member  of  the 
French  Church  in  New  York  as  early  as  the  year  1692,  He 
had  several  children  baptized  in  that  church,  and  was  one  of 
the  "chefs  de  famille"  in  1704  and  after.  He  was  made  a 
freeman  of  the  city  in  1695. 


i 
[ 


Chap.  V, 
1685. 


310 


AUNIS. 


Arnaud   France,'  Daniel   Huger,'  Daniel  Jodon 
and  Sara  Bertonneau  his  mother,^  Isaac  Mazicq/ 


'  Arnaud  France  ;  sa  femme  ;  deux  enfans  :  sortis  de 
risle  de  Re  en  1685  ;  lieu  de  leur  retraite,  h  la  Caroline. 
— (Archives  Nationales.)  The  name  does  not  occur  in  any 
lists  of  refugees  in  America. 

*  Daniel  Huger,  Marchand  :  sa  femme  :  deux  enfans  ; 
sortis  de  I'lsle  de  Re  en  1682  ;  lieu  de  leur  retraite,  ^  Lon- 
dres. — (Archives  Nationales.)  Daniel  Huger  and  Jeanne 
his  wife  were  naturalized  in  England,  March  8,  1682.  The 
wife's  name  may  have  been  Jeanne  Marguerite.  Daniel 
Huger,  ne  a  Loudun,  [en  Poitou,]  fils  de  Jean  Huger, 
et  Anne  Rassin  ;  Margueritte  Perdriau,  sa  femme;  Marguer- 
itte  leur  fille,  n^e  a  la  Rochelle  ;  Daniel  et  Madeleine,  leurs 
enfans,  nez  en  Caroline  :  refugees  in  South  Carolina,  1696. 
— (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et  Suisses  Refugiez,  etc.) 

'  Daniel  Jodon,  fils  d'Elie  Jodon  et  de  Sara  Jodon,  n^  en 
ITsle  de  Re.  Sara,  femme  de  Pierre  Michaud,  fille  de 
Jacques  et  Elizabeth  Bertonneau,  [see  above,]  nee  en  Kisle 
de  R^,  ci-devant  femme  de  Elie  Jodon  :  refugees  in 
South  Carolina,  1696, — (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et  Suisses  Refu- 
giez, etc.) 

*  Isaac  Mazic,  fugitif  de  I'Isle  de  R^.  (Archives  Na- 
tionales, Tt.  n°-  259.)  The  same  document  mentions 
Estienne  and  Paul  Mazic.  Isaac  Mazicq,  natif  de  I'Isle  de 
R6,  fils  de  Paul  Mazicq,  et  de  Helesabeth  Vanewick,  Mari- 
anne Le  Serrurier,  sa  femme,  Marie  Anne  Mazicq,  leur  fille, 
nee  en  Caroline. — (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et  Suisses  Refugiez, 
etc.)  "  Isaac  Mazyck,  the  ancestor  of  the  numerous  and 
respectable  families  in  South  Carolina  bearing  the  name, 
arrived  at  Charleston,  with  many  other  Huguenot  refugees, 
from  England,  in  December,  1686.  His  father,  Paul  Mazyck, 
or  Paul  de  Mazyck,  was  a  native  of  the  Bishopric  of  Liege,  and 
a  Walloon.  Paul  married  Elizabeth  Van  Vick,  or  Van  Wyck, 
of  Flanders.  He  removed  to  Maestricht,  in  the  Nether- 
lands, and  afterwards  to  St.  Martin,  in  the  Isle  de  Re,  oppo- 
site La  Rochelle.  Stephen  Mazyck  emigrated  to  England, 
thence  to  Ireland,  and  resided  many  years  in  Dublin,  where 
he  died.  Isaac  fled  from  France  to  Amsterdam.  He  war,  a 
wealthy  merchant,  and  succeeded  in  transferring  to  that  com- 
mercial city  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  pounds  sterling.  From 
Amsterdam  he  went  to  England  with  his  funds,  and  sailed 
from  London  with  an  interest  in  a  cargo  of  one  thousand 


im 


EMIGRANTS  FROM  OL^RON. 


3" 


Pierre   Mounier,"   and  Etienne   Tauvron,' came   chap.  v. 
from  Re  ;  while  Isaac  Biscon  ^  and  Jean  Heraud     1681. 
were  from  the  neighboring  island  of  Oleron. 

The  flight  of  these  families,  as  of  so  many 
others,  from  France,  occurred  chiefly  between 
the  years  1681  and  1686.  It  was  in  1 681,  as  we 
have  seen  in  a  preceding  chapter,  that  the 
severities  inflicted  by  the  government  upon  the 
subjects  of  the  Reformed  religion,  with  a  view  to 
coerce  them  to  embrace  "  the  king's  religion," 


pounds.  This  investment  enabled  him,  in  Charleston,  to  lay 
the  foundation  of  the  wealth  which  he  afterwards  acquired, 
and  which  he  liberally  dispensed  in  aid  of  the  religious  and 
charitable  institutions  of  the  city.  He  is  believed  to  have 
been  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Huguenot  Church  in 
Charleston,  to  which  he  left  in  his  will  one  hundred  pounds, 
the  interest  of  which  he  directed  to  be  paid  annually  forever 
for  the  support  of  a  Calvinistic  Minister  of  that  Church. 
In  his  family  Bible,  under  date  of  1685,  is  this  record  : 
*  God  gave  me  the  blessing  of  coming  out  of  France,  and 
of  escaping  the  cruel  persecution  carried  on  there  against 
the  Protestants  :  and  to  express  my  thanksgiving  for  so 
great  a  blessing,  I  promise,  please  God,  to  observe  the  an- 
niversary of  that  by  a  fast.'" — (History  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church   in   South  Carolina.     By  George  Howe.  D.D. 

Vol.    I.,  p.   I02.) 

'  Pierre  Mounier :  fugitif  de  ITsle  de  R^. — (Archives 
Nationales.)  Peter  Mousnier  was  naturalized  in  England 
April  15,  1687.  Pierre  Mounier,  natif  de  I'isle  de  Ree,  fils 
de  Louis  Mounier  et  Elizabeth  Martineaux,  et  Louise  Robi- 
net  sa  femme,  fille  de  Louis  Robinet ;  refugees  in  South 
Carolina,  1696. — (Liste  des  Fran9ois  et  Suisses  R^fugiez, 
etc.) 

'  Estienne  Tauvron,  ne  a  I'isle  de  R^,  fils  de  Jacques 
Tauvron  et  de  Marie  Brigand.  Madeleine,  sa  fille,  n^e  a 
I'isle  de  R^.     Ester,  n^e  a  Plymouth. 

'  Jean  Biscon,  fugitif  de  I'isle  d'Oleron. — (Archives  Na- 
tionales.) Isaac  Biscon  and  wife,  admitted  into  the  colony 
of  Massachusetts,  February  i,  1691  ;  and  Samuel  Biscon, 
South  Carolina,  17 17,  were  probably  of  the  same  extraction. 


312   FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 


Chap^V. 
1681. 


The 
Intendant 


reached  a  point  that  must  have  seemed  to 
them  the  height  of  barbarity  and  oppression,  in 
the  enactment  of  a  law  permitting  children  of 
the  age  of  seven  years  and  upward  to  forsake 
the  faith  of  their  parents.  Before  this  period, 
the  Huguenots  of  La  Rochelle,  though  exposed 
to  some  of  the  penalties  and  dis'^'^'lities  endured 
by  their  brethren  throughout  F  ,e,  had  long 
enjoyed  an  exceptional  tranquillity.  During  this 
time,  many  a  Protestant  family  had  made  its 
way  from  another  province  to  find,  in  some  one 
of  the  villages  of  Aunis,  or  in  the  city  itself,  a 
comparative  freedom  from  religious  persecution. 
But  witl:  the  appointment  of  Demuyn,  "  a 
Demu^'^  mortal  enemy  of  Protestantism,"  as  governor 
of  Aunis,  in  1674,  the  tribulations  of  the  long 
favored  Rochellese  may  be  said  to  have  begun 
in  earnest.  The  laws  which  we  have  elsewhere 
rehearsed,  shutting  out  all  Protp  nts  from  civil 
employments,  from  the  learned  ^ssions,  from 

trades  of  various  kinds,  were  now  enforced,  so 
far  as  practicable.  No  class  was  exempt  from 
annoyance  and  indignity.  The  families  that 
prided  themselves  upon  their  noble  rank,  in  virtue 
of  descent  from  persons  who  had  filled  the  high- 
est municipal  offices,  were  informed  that  they 
could  retain  their  honors  only  on  condition  of 
renouncing  heresy.  Ministers  of  the  Gospel 
were  threatened,  silenced,  imprisoned.  The 
citizens  of  La  Rochelle,  as  early  as  the  summer 
of  1681,  saw  the  towns  and  villages  around  them 
visited  by  bands  of  soldiers,  quartered  on  de- 
fenseless Protestant   families ;    and  they  knew 


I  — ^MCTW^^ 


THE  "  TEMPLE  "  DEMOLISHED. 


3^3 


January 
18. 


that,  sooner  or  later,  they  too  must  experience  chap.v. 
the  horrors  of  the  dragonnades.  Already,  num-  ^ 
bers  from  Poitou  were  flying  before  the  storm  of 
persecution.  More  than  one  hundred  of  these, 
discovered  in  La  Rochelle,  whither  they  had 
come  to  embark  for  England  or  Holland,  were 
thrown  into  the  tower  of  La  Lantcnic.  At  length 
the  decree  went  forth  for  the  suppression  of  the 
Huguenot  worship,  in  that  city  that  had  so  long 
been  the  stronghold  or  the  refuge  of  the  Calvin- 
ists  of  France.  It  was  ordered  that  the 
"temple"  be  demolished  within  one  month,  and 
that  the  Protestants  themselves  perform  the 
work  of  destruction.  Not  one,  however,  was 
found  willing  to  take  part  in  it  ;  the  government 
employed  workmen  for  the  purpose,  charging  the 
expense  of  the  demolition  to  the  homeless  con- 
gregation :  and  in  five  days  it  was  completed. 
A  few  weeks  later,  the  Protestant  heads  of 
families  were  summoned  to  an  interview  with 
the  governor,  ^  rnou,  \vho  had  succeeded  De- 
muyn  in  this  pos.  ion.  They  were  commanded,  Marchso. 
in  the  king's  name,  to  renounce  the  heresy  of 
Calvin  :  and  they  were  informed  that,  "  should 
they  withstand  their  sovereign's  order,  and  stub- 
bornly close  their  hearts  against  the  Holy  Ghost, 
His  Majesty  would  consider  himself  discharged 
from  responsibility  for  the  pains  and  calamities 
that  would  befall  them,  beginning  in  this  world, 
in  punishment  for  their  hardness  of  heart." 

October  came — the  fatal  month  of  the  Revo- 
cation— and  with  it,  the  dragonnades.  It  was  on 
the  first  day  of  this  memorable  month,  that  a 


W ! 


314  FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 


October 
1. 


Bernon's 
letter. 


Chap.v.  letter  was  addressed  by  a  Protestant  of  La  Ro- 
j^.  chelle  to  some  unknown  person  in  Boston,  Mas- 
sachusetts, picturing  in  quaint  but  touching  lan- 
guage the  wretched  condition  of  his  fellow-reli- 
gionists, and  expressing  their  desire  to  seek 
refuge  in  America.  "  God  grant  that  I  and  my 
family  were  with  you  ;  we  should  not  been 
exposed  to  the  furie  of  our  enemies,  who  rob 
us  of  the  goods  which  God  hath  given  us  to  the 
subsistence  of  our  soule  and  body.  I  shall  not 
assume  to  write  all  the  miseries  that  we  suffer, 
which  cannot  be  comprehended  in  a  letter,  but 
in  many  books.  I  shall  tell  you  briefly,  that  our 
temple  is  condemned,  and  rased,  our  ministers 
banished  forever,  all  their  goods  confiscated,  and 
moreover  they  arc  condemned  to  the  fine  of 
[one]  thousand  crowns.  All  t'other  temples  are 
also  rased,  excepted  the  temple  of  Re,  and  two 
or  three  others.  By  act  of  Parliament  we  are 
hindered  to  be  masters  in  any  trade  or  skill. 
We  expect  every  days  the  lord  governour  of 
Gulene,  who  shall  put  soldiers  in  our  houses, 
and  take  away  our  childeren  to  be  offered  to  the 
Idol,  as  they  have  done  in  t'other  countrys. 

"  The  country  where  you  live  (that  is  to  say 
New  England)  is  in  great  estime  ;  I  and  a  great 
many  others,  Protestants,  intend  to  go  there. 
Tell  us,  if  you  please,  what  advantage  we  can 
have  there,  and  particularly  the  boors  who  are 
accoustumed  to  plough  the  ground.  If  some  body 
of  your  country  would  hazard  to  come  here  with 
a  ship  to  fetch  in  our  French  Protestants,  he 
would    make   great   gain.     All  of   us  hope  for 


FUSILEERS  FROM  BEARN. 


315 


Boohelle. 


God's  help,  to  whose  Providence  we  submit  our-   chap.  v. 
selves,  etc."  '  1685. 

The  fears  of  this  writer  were  soon  realized. 
A  few  days  later,  "  seven  to  eight  thousand 
fusileers,  just  come,  as  it  was  said,  from  convert- 
ing the  1  lOtestants  in  Beam,"  entered  La  Ro- 
chelle.  They  were  quartered  in  the  houses  of 
Protestants  only.  To  one  family,  five  soldiers 
were  assigned,  to  another  ten,  to  a  third,  an 
entire  company.  The  scenes  of  disorder  and 
outrage  already  witnessed  in  the  villages  of 
Poitou  and  Saintonge,  were  repeated  in  the 
homes  of  the  Rochellese.  "At  first,  these  men  ap- 
peared in  the  character  of  merchants  in  search 
of  gain  :  but  suddenly  they  were  seen  to  be  KUage 
transformed,  as  it  were,  into  so  many  lions  and  La 
tigers ;  so  that  all  who  could  escape  abandoned 
their  houses,  which  the  soldiers  at  once  pillaged, 
selling  the  furniture.  Upon  those  who  could  not 
or  would  not  leave  their  homes,  they  vented  all 
their  fury,  until  many  who  would  no  longer  bear 
it,  yielded  to  violence."*  Three  hundred  fami- 
lies, tormented  beyond  all  endurance,  gave  way, 

'  The  above  extract  from  the  letter  in  question  was  dis- 
covered by  the  late  Rev,  Abiel  Holmes,  D.D.,  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  in  the 
MSS.  collected  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  Prince,  and  deposited 
in  the  library  of  that  society.  The  document  was  entitled 
a  "  letter  written  from  Rochel,  the  ist  of  October  1684." 
The  date  is  evidently  a  mistake  for  1685.  From  certain 
peculiarities  of  ])hraseology,  spelling,  etc.,  I  am  convinced 
that  the  writer  was  Gabriel  Bernon. 

'  Histoire  des  Reformez  de  la  Rochelle  depuis  Tannic 
1660  jusqu'  a  I'ann^e  1685  en  laquelle  I'Edit  de  Nantes 
a  ^t^  revoque,  [Par  A.  Tessereau.)  Amsterdam  :  chez  la 
veuve  de  Pierre  Savouret,  dans  le  Kalver-Straat,  1689. 


^ 


U 


3l6  FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 


Chap.  V.  and  suffered  themselves  to  be  enrolled  among 
1685.  the  "  new  converts  "  of  Rome.  Eight  hundred 
families,  however,  stood  firm  :  though  the  gov- 
ernor, having  again  sent  for  them,  threatened 
to  destroy  them  [les  adimer],  if  they  persisted  in 
their  obstinacy.  And  now,  four  companies  of 
the  dreaded  dragoons  entered  La  Rochelle  ;  and 
the  heart-broken  Huguenots  saw  them  come  by 
fifties  and  hundreds  into  their  dwellings,  sword 
in  hand,  with  oaths  and  curses,  as  if  storming  a 
foreign  city.  Nothing  remained  for  the  un- 
fortunate citizens  but  recantation,  imprisonment 
or  flight.  Many  succumbed  to  the  temptation  to 
purchase  security  and  comfort,  by  outwardly 
conforming  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  though 
"Bowing  scarcely  disguising  their  repugnance  for  her 
doctrines  and  worship.  Others  did  not  go  so 
far,  taking  refuge  in  a  verbal  recantation,  against 
which  their  consciences  protested,  and  which 
they  hastened  to  disavow,  so  soon  as  they  were 
able  to  make  their  escape  from  France.  Some 
utterly  refused,  as  they  expressed  it,  to  "  bow 
the  knee  to  Baal,"  and  suffered  every  loss  and 
indignity  that  a  brutal  soldiery  and  a  merciless 
priesthood  could  inflict  upon  them,  rather  than 
forsake  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  Multitudes 
fled  to  other  lands,  leaving  their  houses  and 
their  goods  to  be  confiscated,  severing  all  the 
ties  that  bound  them  to  their  country  and  their 
race,  and  carrying  with  them  the  virtues  that 
were  to  contribute  immensely  to  the  worth  and 
prosperity  of  the  peoples  that  received  them. 
By   the   time   the  Edict  of   Fontainebleau   ap- 


to 
Baal.' 


K'sasfs.-. 


!■ 


PIERRE  JAY. 


2>^7 


peared,  revoking  the  "  irrevocable  and  per- 
petual "  Edict  of  Nantes,  Protestant  La  Ro- 
chelle,  to  all  appearance,  had  ceased  to  exist. 

The  "large  house"  of  Pierre  Jay,  "below the 
Bourserie,"  had  been  one  of  the  dwellings 
especially  marked  for  intrusion,  when  the  fusi- 
leers  from  Beam  entered  La  Rochelle.  Poinding 
that  the  annoyances  which  they  inflicted  upon 
the  Huguenot  merchant  did  not  avail  to  convert 
him,  the  governor  withdrew  these  soldiers,  and 
substituted  for  them  a  number  of  the  dreaded 
dragoons.  The  situation  of  the  family  soon 
became  intolerable.  A  visit  to  the  parish  priest, 
a  word  spoken,  or  a  signature,  would  have  sufificed 
at  any  moment  to  rid  them  of  their  tormentors  : 
and  many  of  their  friends  and  neighbors  were 
hastening  to  purchase  exemption  in  this  way 
from  barbarities  which  they  could  no  longer 
endure.  Jay  did  not  recant.  He  determined, 
if  possible,  to  remove  his  wife  and  children 
from  the  house,  unobserved  by  the  dragoons, 
and  to  put  them  on  board  a  vessel  about  to  sail 
for  Plymouth.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
carrying  out  this  plan,  especially  the  latter  part 
of  it,  were  very  great.  The  king's  ships  were 
cruising  in  the  channel,  with  strict  orders  to 
search  every  vessel  that  might  leave  the  coast ; 
and  companies  of  cavalry  had  been  recently 
stationed  by  the  governor  of  Aunis  in  the 
neighborhood  of  every  place  of  embarkation 
along  the  shore.  Jay,  however,  succeeded,  and 
having  insured  the  safety  of  his  family,  he  re- 
mained at  home,  doubtless  with  the  design  of 


Chap.  V. 
1685. 


Eiioape 

of 

Jay'B 

family. 


3l8   FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 


pi 


chap.v.  rescuing  at  least  some  portion  of  his  property 
1685.  from  the  general  wreck.  It  was  not  long,  of 
course,  before  the  fugitives  were  missed.  Jay 
was  arrested,  and  imprisoned  in  the  tower  of  La 
Lanterne,  under  charge  of  having  violated  the 
severe  law  forbidding  all  connivance  at  the 
escape  of  Huguenots  from  the  kingdom, 
Through  the  intervention  of  some  influential 
Roman  Catholic  friends,  he  recovered  his  lib- 
erty. Any  effort  to  secure  his  property,  by 
sale,  or  collection  of  debts,  now  seemed  hope- 
A  less.  But  it  so  happened  that  about  this  time 
''in"*'  several  merchant  ships,  in  the  cargoes  of  which 
lantwne.  ^^^  ^^^  interested,  were  expected  to  arrive  in  the 
harbor  of  La  Rochelle.  Of  one  of  these — 
both  vessel  and  cargo — he  was  sole  owner.  It 
was  a  ship  engaged  in  trade  with  Spain.  Jay 
resolved  to  escape,  in  the  first  of  these  vessels 
that  might  make  its  appearance.  To  this  end 
he  instructed  a  pilot,  upon  whose  fidelity  he 
could  depend,  to  watch  for  its  arrival,  and  cause 
the  ship  to  be  anchored  at  a  place  agreed  upon 
off  the  Isle  de  Re.  The  vessel  expected  from 
Spain  was  the  first  to  arrive.  The  friendly  pilot 
lost  no  time  in  acquainting  his  employer  with 
the  fact :  and  favored  by  the  darkness.  Jay  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  pilot-boat,  where  he  lay 
concealed  for  several  hours,  so  near  to  one  of 
the  king's  ships  that  he  could  hear  the  voices  of 
the  crew.  At  length,  the  wind  sprang  up,  the 
cruiser  sailed  on,  and  Jay  was  enabled  to  board 
his  own  vessel,  and  soon  joined  his  wife  and 
children  at  Plymouth.     The  property  they  had 


I 


i 


4.  Grohse  Horloge. 

5.  Place  Barentin. 


1.  Tot'R  i)K,  S.  Nicolas. 

2.  "      i)E  LA  Chaine. 

3.  "        HE    LA    LaNTERNK 


'Viu,'()uy^ortdciayS^(Ji£li& 


-   ^'M^r^yj^^T^/^ 


'.^^^ 


--f-^:.-', 

;^^;;.>/^:,. 


[,J.^^n.;J...lJ[iJH,.i:'-\^;,Vf 


^^1 


v^  /^^itffi^il^Mi^''  die  col6  da  fiopdilc-  ^fLivO. 


4.  Grosse  Horloge. 

5.  Place  Barentin. 


andr6  bernon. 


319 


been  able  to  carry  with  them,  together  with  the    Chap.  v. 
proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  ship  and  its  cargo,     1685. 
sufficed  to    maintain    the    refugees    in   comfort 
during  their  remaining  years. 

But  the  anxieties  of  this  Huguenot  family 
were  not  over.  The  elder  of  Pierre  Jay's  two 
sons,  Auguste,  now  a  young  man  just  come  of 
age,  was  absent  from  La  Rochelle  at  the  time 
of  his  parents'  flight,  having  been  sent  by  his 
father  upon  a  voyage  to  some  part  of  Africa, 
On  his  return  to  La  Rochelle,  he  found  his  home 
deserted,  his  father's  property  confiscated,  and 
his  religious  faith  interdicted.  By  the  kindness 
of  an  aunt,  Madame  Mouchard,  young  Jay  was 
able  to  secrete  himself,  until  an  opportunity  was 
found  for  his  escape  from  France.  He  reached 
the  West  Indies  in  safety,  and  made  his  way  to 
South  Carolina,  where  he  intended  to  settle,  but 
finally  established  himself  in  the  city  of  New 
York.' 

The  fortunes  of  Gabriel  Bernon,  the  emigrant 
to  Massachusetts,  were  not  less  varied.  His 
father,  Andre  Bernon,  the  merchant  of  La 
Rochelle  to  whom  reference  has  been  made  on 
a  preceding  page,  died  some  years  before  the 
Revocation,''  leaving  five  sons  and  five  daughters, 

■  The  life  of  John  Jay  :  with  Selections  from  his  Corre- 
spondence and  Miscellaneous  Papers.  By  his  son,  William 
Jay.     New  York  :  1833.     Vol.  I.,  pp.  3-6. 

La  Rochelle  d'Outre-Mer :  Jean  Jay.  Par  L.  M.  de 
Richemond.     Revue  Chr^tienne,  1879,  p.  547 

'  He  was  living  at  the  time  of  Gabriel's  marriage,  when 
he  signed  the  marriage  contract,  23  August,  1673.  His  wife, 
Suzanne  Guillemard,  was  then  already  deceased. — Bernon 
Papers,  MS. 


Ill 
I  'I 

ir 


320  FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 

chap^v.  all  of  whom  had  reached  maturity.'  Andre,  the 
1685.  eldest,  was  a  prosperous  banker,  and  an  "  ancien  " 
of  the  Huguenot  church.  When  Arnou,  the 
cruel  governor,  called  before  him  the  heads  of 
families  that  remained  steadfast  in  their  faith, 
after  the  first  domiciliary  visits  of  the  soldiery, 
and  threatened  them  with  utter  ruin  should  they 
persist  in  their  obstinate  course,  Andre  Bernon 

Brutality  exclaimed  with  tears,  "  Sir,  you  would  have  me 
Arnou.  losc  my  soul !  since  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
believe  what  the  religion  you  bid  me  embrace 
teaches."  "  Much  do  I  care,"  was  the  brutal  re- 
ply, "  whether  you  lose  your  soul  or  not,  provided 
you  obey."  *  Andre  Bernon  did  not  long  survive 
the  destruction  of  his  beloved  church  and  the 
dispersion  of  his  brethren.     He  died  soon  after 


*  Andr^  Bernon's  sons  were  :  Andre,  Samuel,  Jean,  (born 
in  1659,)  Gabriel,  (born  April  6,  1644,)  and  Jacciues.  His 
daughters  were  :  Esther,  Jeanneton,  (married  Jean  Allaire,) 
Eve,  (married  Pierre  Sanceau,)  Suzanne,  (married  Paul  de 
Pont,)  and  Marie  (married  Benjamin  Faneuil). 

'  "  II  y  en  avoit  encore  plus  de  huit  cents  [families]  qui 
tenoient  bon.  Le  sieur  Arnou  (Intendant)  fit  venir  de  ces 
derniers  ches  lui  le  Samedi  6  Octobre,  et  apres  leur  avoir 
reproche  qu'  ils  etoient  des  opiniatres  enrages  et  des  rebelles 
aux  volontes  de  leur  souverain,  il  les  mena9a  de  les  abymer, 
a  moins  qu'ils  ne  lui  donnassent  parole  de  se  faire  instruire. 
Tous,  a  la  reserve  d'un  ou  de  deux,  temoignerent  de  la  fer- 
met6.  Ce  fut  alors  que  le  S'"  Andre  Bernon,  qui  avoit  ^te 
un  des  anciens  du  Consistoire,  et  qui  etoit  un  des  bons 
marchans  de  la  ville,  lui  dit  en  pleurant,  et  d'une  mani^re 
qui  en  fit  pleurer  d'  autres.  Vous  m'  allcz  damner,  Mon- 
seigneur,  puisqti  il  m'  est  impossible  de  croire  ce  qit  enseigne 
la  Religion  qu'  on  veut  que  j embrasse  ;  a  quoi  le  sieur  Arnou 
repliqua  avec  insulte,  Je  me  soucie  bien  que  vous  vous 
damniez  ou  non,  poun'4  que  vous  obdssiez." 


I   I 


SAMUEL  AND  JEAN  BERNON. 


321 


the  Revocation,  and  was  buried  by  night  in  his    chap^v. 
own  garden  at  Perigny."  1685. 

Samuel  and  jean,  the  second  and  third  sons 
of  Andre  Bernon,  senior,  forsook  the  faith  of 
their  parents,  and  became  zealous  Romanists. 
Samuel's  conversion  had  occurred  long  before  the 
Revocation,  in  1660,"  shortly  after  his  marriage 
with  the  daughter  of  a  Huguenot  minister,  who 
was  himself  on  the  point  of  conforming  to  the 
Church  of  Rome.^  Some  of  his  letters  to  Ga- 
briel, in  reply  to  his  brother's  unsparing  stric- 
tures upon  that  Church,  are  extant,  and  reveal 
at  once  the  sincerity  of  the  writer,  and  his  cred- 
ulous acquiescence  in  the  errors  and  fabrications 
of  Rome.  Jean  was  a  more  recent  proselyte. 
Educated  for  the  Protestant  ministry,  he  became 
pastor  of  the  Reformed  church  of  Saint  Just,* 
near  Marennes,  in  the  province  of  Saintonge : 
but  at  the  time  of  the  Revocation,  he  followed 
the  example  of  his  brother  Samuel,  and  like  him 

,A  — 

'  Histoire  des  Reformez  de  la  Rochelle,  etc.,  pp.  297-281, 

302- 

"  Filleau,  Dictionnaire  historique  et  gen^alogique  des 
families  de  I'ancien  Poitoii.     Vol.  I.,  p.  313. 

^  Marie  Cottiby,  daughter  of  Samuel  Cottiby,  pastor  at 
Poitiers,  1653  to  1660.  Complaint  of  his  conduct  while 
pastor  having  been  made  to  the  Synod  of  Loudun,  Cottiby 
hastened  to  abjure  Protestantism.  He  was  rewarded  with 
the  office  of  king's  attorney  for  the  district  of  La  Rochelle. 
— (Li^vre,  Histoire  des  protestants  et  des  ^glises  reform^es 
du  Poitou,  HL,  78,  79.)  La  France  Protestante,  deuxi^me 
edition,  vol.  H.,  p.  390,  erroneously  states  that  Samuel  Ber- 
non?,  father,  as  well  as  his  father-in-law,  abjured  Protest- 
antism on  this  occasion. 

*  Pasteur  de  S.  Just,  1661-77,  n^^is  qui  abjura  k  la  Revo- 
cation.— La  France  Protestante. 


322    FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 


<ni*p.  V.  escaped  the  miseries  that  befell  others  of  his 
1685.  kindred.  Samuel,  "sieur  de  Salins" — his  Hugue- 
not name,'  the  only  trace  he  retained  of  a  Hu- 
guenot extraction — lived  in  comfort,  if  not  in  ' 
luxury,  in  the  city  of  Poitiers,  in  Poitou,  "hav- 
ing acquired  a  laige  fortune  while  engaged  in 
commercial  transactions,  both  in  America  and 
Europe."'  Jean,  "sieur  de  Luneau,"^  resided 
in  Marennes,  or  in  the  neighboring  parish  of 
Saint  Just,  where  he  had  exercised  his  Protest- 
ant ministry,  and  where  he  seems  to  have 
acquired  an  estate,  perhaps  the  reward  of  his 
Fervent  abjuration."*  He  sometimes  joined  with  Samuel 
in  endeavors  to  persuade  his  fugitive  brother 
Gabriel,  in  America,  and  his  sister  Esther,  then 
in  England,  to  come  back  to  France,  renounce 
their  heresy,  and  live  under  that  king  whose 
subjects  they  were  by  birth.  "  Our  brother  de  St. 
Jeux  [St.  Just],"  writes  Samuel  to  Gabriel,  "  can 
better  than  I  explain  to  you  the  difificulties  upon 
matters  of  religion  that  may  prevent  you  from 
returning  to  your  dear  country.  He  has  very 
correct  ideas  on  these  matters ;  I  do  not  think 


Proselytes. 


|l   ! 


'  Samuel  :  "nom  inusit^  alors  chez  les  catholiques,  et  en 
honneur  chez  les  protestants." — Histoire  de  la  colonie  fran- 
9aise  du  Canada.     I.     Note  XXL 

'  Filleau,  Dictionnaire  des  families  de  I'ancien  Poitou.   L, 

P-  313- 

'  Sgr  du  fief  de  Feusse  et  du  fief  Luneau. — Filli-au. 

*  Jean  Bernon  is  repeatedly  mentioned  ^'\  '^  uuiel  in  his 

letters  to  Gabriel,  as  " notre  frere  de   ^^  nx" — /,  r.  '^t. 

Just.     Gabriel  names  him  but  r     (  iry  ot  his 

property  on  leaving   La  R'^          '  Bernon 

mon  fr^re"  is   mentioned  of  .^^140. 
under  the  head  "  Dettes  d            cs.' 


GABRIEL  BERNON. 


3-23 


that   he   makes   as   much    use   of   them   as  he 
should."  ' 

Gabriel  Bernon,  fourth  son  of  Andrd,  had 
reached  the  age  of  forty-one  at  the  time  of  the 
Revocation.'  Associated  with  his  father,  and 
succeeding  him  in  business,  he  was  now  one  of 
the  leading  merchants  of  La  Rochelle.  His 
accounts  show  very  extensive  commercial  rela- 
tions with  the  chief  towns  of  the  neighboring  pro- 
vinces— Poitiers,  Limoges,  Angouleme,  Niort, 
Chitellerault,  Loudun,  and  other  places  ;  and  a 
foreign  trade  with  Martinique,  St.  Christopher, 
Cayenne,  and  St.  Domingo.  More  important 
than  any  of  these  transactions,  however,  had 
been  the  trade  with  Canada.  In  Quebec,  as  we 
have  seen  already,  he  was  recognized  as  the 
principal  French  merchant,  and  as  having  ren- 
dered great  services  to  the  colony.  But  he  was 
also  an  inflexible  Huguenot :  and  the  clergy,  to 
whom  just  now  the  destruction  of  heresy  was 
the  only  consideration,  were  bent  upon  his  ruin. 
"  It  is  a  pity,"  wrote  the  governor  of  Canada, 
"  that  he  cannot  be  converted.  As  he  is  a  Hu- 
guenot, the  bishop  wants  me  to  order  him  home 
this  autumn,  which  I  have  done,  though  he 
carries  on  a  large  business,  and  a  great  deal  of 


Chap.y. 

1685. 


'  Jean  Bernon  died  in  or  before  the  year  1714. 

*  "  Le  Mardy  douziesme  Apruil  mil  six  cents  quarante 
quattre  a  est^  Baptiz^  par  Mons'.  Vincent ;  Gabriel  fils  de 
Andr^  Bernon  et  de  Suzanne  Guillemard — parrain  Gabriel 
Prieur  marrayne  Marie  Guillemard  ;  II  est  n^  le  sixiesme 
dudit  mois  Sign^  G.  Prieur  P.  Vincent.  Cy  dessus  est 
Extraict  du  papier  des  Baptesmes  du  Consistoire  de  la 
Rochelle.     A.  Bernon." — Bernon  Papers,  MSS. 


324  FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 

Chjip.v.  jno?iey  remains  due  to  him  here''  Recantation 
i6i5,  "f  i*uin — the  Huguenot  merchant  was  to  make 
his  choice.  Gabriel  Bernon  reached  La  Ro- 
chelle  in  the  height  of  the  persecution  that  had 
commenced  in  the  spring  preceding.  He  was 
thrown  into  prison,  where  he  languished  for 
some  months.'  An  interesting  memorial  of  this 
period  of  suffering  is  preserved  by  one  of 
his  descendants  in  Rhode  Island  :  a  F"rench 
psalter,  of  microscopic  size,  given  him,  it  is 
said,  by  a  fellow-prisoner   in   the   tower  of  La 

Bernou's    Lanterne.     After  some  months,  he  was  released, 
^to^    perhaps  through   the  influence    of    his    Roman 

Holland.  (Jatholic  brothers  :  and  soon  after,  having  made 
such  disposition  of  his  remaining  property  as 
he  could  make,  he  found  mears  to  escape  from 
France  to  Holland.  His  wife,  Esther  Le  Roy. 
endeavored  to  accompany  him,  but  was  arrested 
in  the  attempt.  She  fe  gned  conversion,  was 
released,  and  soon  rejoined  her  husband.^ 

Andre  Sigourney,  and  Charlotte  Pairan  his 
wife,  were  living  in  comfortable  circumstances 
in  La  Rochelle,  when  the  quartering  of  troops 
commenced.  Determined  not  to  renounce  their 
faith,  they  laid  their  plans  for  escape,  and  suc- 


'  His  goods  were  seized  on  the  thirteenth  of  October, 
1685.  His  imprisonment  probably  extended  from  this  date 
to  the  beginning  of  May,  1686,  when,  upon  his  release,  he 
prepared  a  balance-sheet,  showing  the  condition  of  his 
affairs.  This  document  is  headed  "  A  la  Rochelle,  le  10 
May  t686.  Extrait  de  ce  quy  mest  Dh'eu  en  DiviMsendroits, 
dont  Jay  mis  les  partes  en  mains  de  mons"".  Sanceau,  le 
10"    May  1686." 

*  La  France  Protestante  :  deuxieme  edition,  vol,    H.,  p. 

391- 


RELATIVES  IN  CONVENTS  AND  GALLEYS.   325 

ceeded  in  quietly  transferring  a  portion  of  their  caiap.  v. 
effects  to  a  vessel  in  the  harbor.  The  day  fixed  J685. 
upon  for  the  attempt  to  leave,  was  a  holiday. 
The  family  provided  a  bountiful  feast  for  the 
soldiers  billeted  upon  them,  and  while  these 
were  in  the  height  of  their  carousal,  they  de- 
parted unobserved.  The  weather  was  stormy, 
and  they  had  a  rough  and  perilous  passage 
across  the  channel,  but  reached  England  safely. 

Often,  the  happiness  of  those  who  effected 
their  escape  was  overcast  by  sadness,  in  view 
of  the  failure  of  others  in  the  same  attempt. 

Many  of  our  refugee  families  left  behind  them 
those  near  and  dear  to  them  ;  the  men — if  stead- 
fast in  their  faith — liable  to  be  shut  up  in  prisons  ; 
the  women,  sent  to  convents,  worse  than 
prispns.  Pierre  Sanceau,  Gabriel  Demon's 
brother-in-law,  reached  England  almost  penni- 
less. "As  for  my  poor  wife  and  daughter,"  he 
says,  "  they  are  still  in  La  Rochelle.  They 
have  been  repeatedly  sent  to  the  convents. 
Just  now,  they  are  out,  but  on  warning." 

The  two  sons  of  Roch  Chastaignier,  seigneur 
de  Craniahe,  who  fled  from  La  Rochelle,  and 
reached  South  Carolina,  had  an  elder  brother, 
Hector  Fran9ois  Chastaignier,  who  sought  to 
make  his  escape  at  the  same  time,  but  was  cap- 
tured. Thrown  into  prison,  and  subjected  to 
the  most  shameful  maltreatment,  he  displayed  a 
heroic  fortitude  and  a  constancy  worthy  of  the 
early  martyrs." 

'  In    the   lists  of    persons    who   suffered   persecution    in 
Aunis,  we  recognize  not  a  few  namesakes  of  our  American 


';:i 


Chap.  V. 

1685. 


326  FLIGHT  FROM  LA  ROCHELLE  AND  AUNIS. 

refugees.  Benoist,  the  historian  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes, 
mentions  the  following:  G.  Cothonneau  E  Dechezault, 
C  Ayrault,  L  Valleau,  P.  Valleau,  Chaille,  Etienne  Jou- 
neau,  Daniel  Renault,  Philippe  Janvier,  Gregoire  Gougeon, 
Beaudoin,  France,  Du  Tay,  Nicolas  Rappe,  Alaire  Mercier, 
Papin  Samuel  Pintard— doubtless  a  relative  of  the  refugee 
in  New  York— was  in  1695  a  galley-slave  upon  the  ship  La 
Grande. 


;5, 

It, 
u- 

n, 
ee 


APPENDIX 


LET 


qui  p; 

turn  e 

institi 

in  qui 

gesta 

afficer 

cupidc 

prasstc 

compa 

perven 

optime 

videntf 

regnur 

nostris 

proseq 

portuu 

bris  19 

perveni 

iviinus 

patrem 

nos  uti 

unicu.p 

esse  D 

Deo  ius 

ipsum  1 

monia  1 

doctoru 

videanti 

mitlit,   ( 

usque  ta 

regi  sin; 

ecclesiiE 

Priscilia 

fit    ut   S] 


APPENDIX. 


LETTER  OF  THE  MINISTERS  RICHER  AND  CHARTIER 

TO  CALVIN, 

[See  above,  pages  41,  42.] 
RICHERIUS   ET   CHARTERIUS  CALVINO. 

*  *  *  Quum  enim  ad  eum  locum  pervenissemus  in  quo  is  erat 
qui  partim  sua  autoritate,  partim  consilio,  partim  sumptibus  (quarv 
turn  ei  licet)  huius  ecclesiae  priniordia  curat,  qui  et  huius  nostri 
instituti  dux  et  caput  est,  in  Gallia  multa  nobis  lesolvenda  fuerunt 
in  quibus  sapientia  divina  clarissime  apparuit.  Alia  prasterea  illic 
gesta  sunt,  veiuni  talia  quae  nos  consolare  potius  quam  tristitia 
afficere  deberent :  pra;sertini  quum  videremus  niultos  verbi  Dei 
cupidos,  et  ea  quae  noliis  necessaria  essent  polliceretur  qui 
praestare  poterat,  turn  ad  libros  emendos,  tum  ad  vestinienta 
comparanda,  tum  ad  itineris  sumptus  faciendos.  Quum  autem 
pervenissemus  Lutetiam,  ecclesiam  Christi  illic  congregatam 
optime  verbo  Dei  comperimus,  unde  maxime  sumus  consolati, 
videntes  adimpleri  Davidis  vaticinium  quo  prsevidebat  Christi 
regnum  in  medio  inimicorum  suorum  stabile  fore,  quod  te 
nostris  ad  te  Uteris  iam  intellexisse  confidentes  pluribus  verbis  non 
prosequemur.  Perarto  Lutetian  omni  nostro  negotio  appulimus 
portuum  maris  vuigo  appellatum  Honnefleur:  die  autem  Novem- 
bris  19  ingressi  sumus  naves  quarum  ministerio  hue  usque  tandem 
pervenimus  hancque  insulam  quam  appellant  rie  Couligni  intro- 
ivimus  die  7  Martii,  ubi  coelitus  nobis  parr.tum  invenimus  et 
patrem  et  f*-alrem  Nicolaum  Villagatgnonem.  Patrem  dico  quia 
nos  uti  ♦:lios  amplecfitur,  alit  et  fovet,  fratrem  vero  quia  nobiscum 
unicu:r>  patrem  coelestem  Deum  invocat,  lesum  Christum  solum 
esse  Dei  et  hominum  mediatorem  credit,  in  eius  iustitia  se  coram 
Deo  iustum  esse  non  dubitat,  spiritus  sancti  interno  motu  apud  se 
ipsum  experitur  se  vere  me:t-'brum  Christi  esse:  cuius  rei  testi- 
monia  non  pauca  vidimus.  Deiectatur  enim  verbo  Dei,  cui  ne 
doctoruin  quidem  antiquorum  dogmata,  quamvis  multis  sacra 
videantur,  pra^ferre  instituit.  Carnis  certe  indicium  hoc  vix  ad- 
mittit,  quandoquidem  antiquitas  apud  eum  multum  potest :  eo 
usque  tamen  pen  enit  ut  animum  suum  sancto  puroque  Dei  verbo 
regi  sinat.  Honeste  et  prudenter  familiac  sua;  praeest.  qua;  illius 
ecclesiie  specietn  praeferre  videtur  quam  in  domo  suo  habebant 
Priscilla  aut  Aquilla  aut  illius  quae  apud  Nympham  erat.  Quo 
fit   ut  speremus    brevi   futurum   ut    inde    prodeant    amplissimae 


1557- 


330 


APPENDIX. 


1557'  ecclesiae  quse  laudem  Dei  celebrent  et  Christ!  regnum  augeant. 
Is  enim  optimum  sinceriE  veraique  Christiana;  religionis  exemplar 
et  dux  se  ipsum  pra;buit,  tum  in  iiudiendis  pubHcis  concionibus  et 
orationibus,  quibus  aderant  et  omnes  eius  domestici,  tum  in  perci- 
pienda  sacra  coena  Christi  quam  avidissime  et  religiosissime  ex- 
cepit.  Priusquam  autem  ad  hoc  coeleste  convivium  accederet, 
publican!  fidei  suas  confessionem  clara  voce  protulit,  et  Solomonem 
imitatus  locum  in  quo  eramus  congregati  precibus  Deo  se  dicare 
declaravit,  seque  et  sua  omnia  ad  eius  gloriam  propagandam  parata 
esse  professus  est. 

Sed  ne  historian!  texere  potius  quam  te  nostrarum  rerum  cer- 
tiorem  facere  videamur,  reliquorum  narrationem  tabellario  familiar- 
issime  tibi  cognito  relinquentes,  a  quo  privatis   colloquutionibus 

SUcecunque  nobis  acciderunt  poteris  intelligere,  scriptis  nostris 
nem  imponemus :  modo  te  rogaverimus  ut  tuas  prajces  in  con- 
spectu  Dei  effundas,  quo  perperticiat  Christi  aiditicium  quod  in 
his  terra;  finibus  inchoatum  est,  et  admoneas  omnes  quos  Deum 
timere  et  exanimo  venerari  cognoscis,  ut  idem  tecum  agant.  Hoc 
autem  Eleutheropoli  [Genevce],  cui  te  mini-  rum  evangelii  prae- 
posuit,  iam  absolutum  prtecamur  ut  conserveret,  foveat,  in  tran- 
quillo  et  pacato  statu  retineat,  simulque  suas  ecclesias  ubique  sua 
paterna  dementia  congregatas  coelesti  fortitudine  niuniat.  Col- 
legas  tuos  omnes  saluta,  si  lubet,  nostro  nomine,  nominatim 
autem  Nicolaum  Galaziiim,  P.  Viretum  et  Theodorem  Bezam. 
Insuke  Couligniensi  quae  prima  Francorum  exculta  fuit  habitatio 
in  Antarctica  Gallia.  Cal.  Aprilis  anno  1556.1 
Tui  fratres  quos  evangelii  ministros  esse  iussisti. 
G.  Charterius,  Richerius, 

tuus  in  Christo.  tuus  in  Christo. 

Corpus  Reformatorum,  Vol.  XLIV.  Joannis  Calvini  Opera 
quas  supersunt  omnia.  Ediderunt  Gulielmus  Baum,  Eduardus 
Cunitz,  Eduardus  Reuss,  Theologi  Argentoratenses,  Vol.  XVI. 
Brunsvigas,  1877.  No.  2613.  Richerius  et  Charterius  Calvino,  A 
Monsr.  despeville.    Pp.  440-3. 


Ill 


(  Translation^ 

♦  *  *  For,  when  we  had  come  to  that  place  in  which  he 
resided  who,  partly  by  his  influence,  partly  by  counsel,  partly  by 
expenditure  of  money  (so  far  as  he  can)  looks  to  the  first  begin- 
nings of  this  church,  who  also  is  leader  and  head  of  this  undertak- 
ing of  ours,  we  had  many  things  to  settle  in  which  the  Divine  wis- 
dom most  clearly  appeared.  Moreover,  other  matters  were  done 
there,  but  such  as  ought  rather  to  cheer  than  to  sadden  us:  espe- 
cially since  we  saw  many  persons  eager  for  the  word  of  God,  and 
he  who  could  afford  it  promised  those  things  that  we  needed  both 
for  the  purchase  of  books,  and  the  obtaining  of  clothing,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  the  journey.  When,  however,  we  reached  Paris,  we 
ascertained  that  a  church  of  Christ  had  there  been  gathered  in  the 

>  In  anno  manifestus  error. 


APPENDIX. 


331 


best  manner  according  to  God's  word,  whereby  we  were  most 
ereatly  cheered,  seeing  the  fulfillment  of  David's  prophecy  who 
foresaw  that  Christ's  kingdom  would  be  established  in  the  midst 
of  His  enemies.  Being  confident  that  you  already  understand  this 
by  our  letters  to  you,  we  shall  say  no  more.  All  our  business  being 
transacted  at  Paris,  we  pushed  on  to  the  seaport  commonly  called 
Honfleur.  On  the  19th  day  of  November  we  embarked  on  vessels, 
by  means  of  which  we  at  length  came  hither,  and  entered  upon 
this  island  which  they  call  de  Couligni,  on  the  7th  day  of  March, 
where  we  found  there  had  been  provided  for  us  by  Heaven,  both 
as  father  and  brother,  Nicholas  Villegaignon.  I  style  him  father, 
because  he  embraces,  nurtu-es  and  cherishes  us  as  sons;  and 
brother,  because  with  us  he  invokes  God  as  his  only  heavenly 
Father.  He  believes  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  only  Mediator  between 
God  and  men,  he  does  not  doubt  that  in  His  justice  he  is  just  be- 
fore God,  by  the  inner  moving  of  the  Holy  Ghost  within  him  he 
knows  from  experience  that  he  is  in  truth  a  member  of  Christ :  of 
which  thing  we  have  seen  not  a  few  proofs.  For  he  delights  in  the 
word  of  God,  to  which  he  purposes  to  i)refer  not  even  the  tenets  of 
ancient  doctors,  however  many  may  hold  them  sacred.  This  certainly 
scarcely  leaves  room  for  the  judgment  of  the  flesh,  since  antiquity 
has  great  weight  with  him  :  to  this  point,  however,  has  he  come 
that  he  permits  his  mind  to  be  governed  by  the  holy  and  pure 
word  of  God.  Honestly  and  prudently  does  he  preside  over  his 
family,  which  seems  to  present  the  appearance  of  that  church 
which  Priscilla  and  Aquila  had  in  their  house,  or  of  that  which  was 
in  the  house  of  Nymphas.  Hence  we  hope  that  there  shall  shortly 
come  forth  from  it  most  illustrious  churches  that  shall  publish 
abroad  the  praise  of  God  and  increase  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  For 
this  man  has  shown  himself  a  most  excellent  exemplar  of  and  guide 
to  sincere  and  true  Christian  religion,  both  by  attending  upon  pub- 
lic meetings  and  sermons,  at  which  also  all  those  of  his  house 
were  present,  and  in  partaking  of  the  holy  Supper  of  Christ,  which 
he  has  received  with  the  utmost  eagerness  and  devotion.  But  be- 
fore approaching  this  heavenly  feast,  he  made  with  a  clear  voice 
a  public  profession  of  his  faith,  and,  imitating  Solomon,  declared 
that  he  dedicated  the  place  wherein  we  were  gathered  by  pray- 
ers to  God,  and  announced  that  he  and  all  his  goods  were  conse- 
crated to  the  spread  of  His  glory. 

But  lest  we  should  seem  to  be  weaving  a  tale,  rather  than  in- 
forming you  respecting  our  affairs,  wl  shall  leave  the  narration  of 
the  rest  to  the  bearer,  who  is  most  familiarly  known  to  you,  from 
whom  you  will  be  able  to  learn  in  private  conversation  whatever 
has  happened  to  us,  and  shall  close  our  letter. 

Only  we  shall  ask  you  to  pour  out  your  prayers  in  God's  sight, 
that  He  may  perfect  the  building  of  Christ  that  has  been  begun  in 
these  ends  of  the  earth,  and  to  exhort  all  those  whom  you  know  to 
fear  and  heartily  to  reverence  God,  to  unite  with  you  in  doing  the 
same  thing.  This  also  we  now  pray  earnestly  for  Eleutheropolis 
[the  "  Free  City" — sc,  Geneva],  over  which  He  has  placed  you  as  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel,  that  He  may  preserve,  foster,  maintain  it 
in  tranquillity  and  peace,  and  at  the  same  time  arm  with  heavenly 


1557. 


332 


APPExNDIX. 


1557.  courage  His  churches  everywhere  gathered  through  His  fatherly 
mercy.  Salute  all  your  colleagues,  if  you  please,  in  our  name,  and 
by  name  Nicholas  des  Gallars,  Pierre  Viret  and  Theodore  de 
B^ze.  On  the  Island  de  Coligni  which  is  the  tirst  civilized  habita- 
tion of  the  I'>ench  in  Antarctic  France,  April  ist,  1556.' 

Your  brethren  whom  you  bade  to  be  ministers  of  the  Gospel. 
G.  Chartier,  Richer, 

Yours  in  Christ,  Yours  in  Christ. 


LETTER    OF    THE    MINISTER    RICHER    TO    AN    UN- 
KNOWN CORRESPONDENT. 

[See  above,  pages  41,  42.] 
RICHERIUS   INCERTO. 

Gratia  et  pax  a  Deo  per  lesum  Christum. 

Nolui  oblatam  occasionem  prasterire,  frater,  quin  tuam  human- 
itatem  de  rebus  nostris  certiorem  facerem  :  inprimis  notum  tibi 
esse  velim  beneficium,  quod  a  Domino  hactenus  accepimus,  ut 
eiusdem  bonitati  digneris  nobiscum  gratis  referre.  Id  utique  est 
quemadmodum  optamus.  Quandoquidem  omnium  nostrum 
talem  pro  sua  bonitate  habuit  curam,  ut  per  tarn  varia  terrarum  et 
maris  discrimina,  omnes  nos  ad  portum  sanos  et  incolumes  per- 
duxerit.  Satan  quidem,  ut  est  sui  similis,  diversis  nos  in  itinere 
exposuit  periculis :  sed  ut  tilii  (etsi  hoc  nomine  indigni)  experti 
sumus  semper  tanti  patris  manum  auxiliatricem  :  quam  etiam 
benigne  exporrigit  in  dies  magis  ac  magis  erga  nos.  Altero  die 
postquam  appulimus  Villagagno  voluit  verbum  Dei  publice 
praedicari  :  deinde  subsequenti  hebdomada  sacrosanctam  Christi 
coenam  administrari  expetivit,  quam  et  ipse  cum  aliquot  e  suis 
domesticis  religiose  adiit,  reddita  primum  suae  fidei  ratione  cum 
magna  ecclesite  quae  aderat  sediticatione.  Quid  commodius 
nostro  instituto  contingere  poterat .'  Qi^'id  demum  votis  omnibus 
nostrum  respondisset  opportunius,  quam  ut  his  tesseris  apud  nos 
vera  appareret  ecclesia?  Talibus  beneficiis  dignatus  est  nos 
prosequi  benignus  ille  summus  pater.  Regio  haec  autem,  quod  sit 
inculta  raroque  habitatore,  nihil  fere  profert  quod  nostrates  vel 
gustare  vellent.  Milium  quidem,  ficus  sylvestres  et  quasdam 
radices  quibus  farinam  ad  viaticum  conficiunt,  suis  gignit  incolis. 
Panem  vero  non  habet,  nee  vinum  aut  quid  vino  proximum  pro- 
fert. Imo  nee  fructum  aliquem  (quern  noverim)  quo  quandoque 
usi  fuerimus.  Nihilominus  tamen  nobis  bene  est,et  recte  valemus  : 
imo  ut  me  exempli  vice  proferam,  vegetior  sum  solito  :  sed  et  id 
omnibus  aliis  commune  est.  Beneficium  aeri  adscriberet  physicus, 
qui  adeo  temperatus  sit  ut  nostro  respondeat  Maio.     Sed  ne  tanta 

'  That  is  "  avant  Pfiques,"  Old  Style,  but  New  Style,  Thursday,  April 
1.  1557- 


APPENDIX. 


353 


summo  illi  maximo  et  optimo  numini  irrogetur  iniuria,  dicam  quod       1557. 

sentio.     Hoc  modo  paternum  suuni  affectum  nobis  aperit  bonus 

ille   coelestis  ])ali'r,  qui  hie  in  tain   barbaro  et  agresti   solo  suum 

nobis   niinistrat   favorcm,  adeo   ut   expcrianuir   viaticum  hominis 

pendere  non  e  pane,  sed  e  verbo    Uei,  cuius  favor  hie  nobis  est 

omnium    delitiarum  loco.     Unum  est  quod  nos  non   mediocriter 

urget  et  angit,  popuH  scilicet  barbaries,  qua;  tanta  est  ut  maior  esse 

non  possit.     Non  affero,  quod   sint   anthropophagi,  quod   tamen 

illis   adeo  vulgare   est   ut    nil   magis :  sed   doleo   crassam   mentis 

eorum  hebetudinem,  quas  mediis  in  tenebris  tamen  est  palpabilis. 

De  virlute  patris  quamvis  ethica*  nihil  norunt  prorsus,  bonum  a  'Ethnical 

malo  non  secernunt,  denique  vitia  quae  natura  in  casteris  gentibus 

naturaliter  arguit  loco  virtutis  habent :  saltem  vitiorum  turpitudi- 

nem  non  agnoscunt,  adeo  ut  liac  in  re  a  brutis  paruin  differant. 

Cieterum   quod   omnium    perniciosissimum  est,   latet    eos   an   sit 

Ueus,  tantuni  abest  ut   legem   eius   observent,  vel   potentiam   et 

bonitatem    eius  mircntur:  quo   fit  ut  prorsus   sit  nobis   adempta 

spes   lucrifaciendi  eos  Christo  :  quod  ut  omnium  est  gravissimum, 

ita  inter  caetera  maxime  aegre  ferimus.     Audio  quidem  qui   mox 

obiiciet   eos   tabulam   rasam  esse,  quae  facile  suis  possit  depingi 

coloribus,  quod   nativo  huiusmodi   colorum  splendori  nihil  habeat 

contrarium.   Sed  norit  ille  quantum  impediat  idiomatum  diversitas. 

Adde   quod   desunt   nobis  interpretes,   qui   Domino   sint   fideles. 

Propnsueramus  quidem  illorum  ministerio  et  industria  uli :  scilicet 

reperimus  illos  ipsissima  esse  Satanse  membra,  quibus  nihil  magis 

invisum   quam  sanctum   Christi   evangelium.     Proinde  hac  in  re 

nobis  operas  pretium  est  sistere  graduni,  patienterque  exspectare, 

donee  adolescentuli,  quos  Dominus  a  Villagagnonc  barbaris  huius 

patria;  tradidit  erudiendos.  norint  naturalem  ipsovum  distinguere 

linguam.     Ad  hoc  enim  illi  apud  eos  degunt  et  versantur.     Faxit 

Deus  ut  sit  hoc  iliis  citra  aliquod  animarum   suarum  perieulum. 

Nam   ul)i    hoc   numere   nos   donarit   Altissimus,   speramus   banc 

Idumeam    futuram    Christo  possessionem.      Interim   expeetamus 

frequentiorem  populum,  cuius  conversatione  et  formetur  haec  natio 

barbara,  et  nostra  ecclesia  suum  accipiat  incrementum.    Abunda- 

remus  utique  onini  bonorum  copia,  si  hie  frequens  adesset  populus. 

Nam  quod  tenuis  et  modica  sit  annona,  id  efficit  rarus  habitator, 

et  somnolentus  agrieola.     Sed  lis  omnibus  prospiciet  Altissimus. 

Nos  vero   nostratum  omnium   ecclesiarer     preeibus  commendari 

obnixe  cupimus.     Ex  Gallia  antarctica,  pridie  Aprilis,  1557. 

Tuus  P.  RiCHERIUS. 
Joannis  Calvini  Opera  quae  supersunt  omnia.     Volumen  XVI., 
p.  433.     No.  2609.     Rieherius  incerto.     Primitiae  Brasilianas. 


{Translation.) 

Grace  and  peace  from  God  through  Jesus  Christ. 

I  was  unwilling  to  neglect  the  opportunity  that  offered,  brother, 
to  inform  your  excellence  respecting  our  affairs.  First  of  all,  I 
would  wish  you  to  know  the  favor  we  have  thus  far  received  from 
God,  in  order  that  you  may  deign  with  us  to  render  thanks  to  His 
goodness.     That  certainly  is  as  we  wish.     Since  in  His  goodness 


334 


APPENDIX. 


IS57 


•Or, 

albeit 

heathen- 

iah. 


He  has  had  such  a  care  of  a'.i  ourh,  that  through  so  various 
dangers  of  land  and  sea,  He  has  brought  us  all  safe  and  sound  to 
port.  Satan,  indeed,  as  he  is  ever  like  himself,  exposed  us  on  the 
way  to  different  dangers  :  but  as  sons  (although  unworthy  of  this 
name)  we  have  always  experienced  the  helping  hand  of  so  great  a 
Father:  which  also  He  benignantly  extends  to  us  more  and  morr 
from  day  to  day.  The  day  after  our  arrival,  Villegagnon  wished 
the  word  of  God  to  be  publicly  preached  :  then  on  the  following 
week  [Lord's  Day]  he  asked  that  the  holy  Supper  of  Christ  should 
be  administered,  which  he  also  himself  religiously  approached 
with  some  of  those  of  his  household,  after  first  having  made  a 
profession  of  his  faith,  to  the  great  edification  of  the  church  that 
was  present.  What  could  have  happened  more  favorable  to  our 
design  }  What  indeed  would  have  more  opportunely  answered  all 
our  wishes,  than  that  by  these  tokens  a  true  church  might  appear 
among  us.'  With  such  favors  has  the  supreme  Father  deigned  to 
follow  us.  This  region,  however,  because  it  is  uncultivated  and 
sparsely  inhabited,  produces  scarcely  any  thing  that  our  men  will 
even  taste.  It  brings  forth  for  its  inhabitants,  indeed,  millet,  wild  figs, 
and  certain  roots  with  which  they  prepare  flour  for  sustenance. 
But  it  has  no  bread,  nor  does  it  produce  wine  or  any  thing  re- 
sembling wine;  nay,  not  even  any  fruit  (that  I  know)  which  we 
have  ever  used.  Nevertheless,  we  are  in  good  condition  and  very 
well :  nay,  to  bring  myself  forward  as  an  example,  I  am  more 
vigorous  than  usual  :  but  this  is  also  the  common  experience  of 
all  the  rest.  A  natural  philosopher  would  ascribe  the  benefit  to 
the  air,  which  is  so  mild  as  to  correspond  with  our  month  of  May. 
But  lest  so  great  a  wrong  should  be  done  to  that  greatest  and 
highest  Being,  I  shall  say  what  I  think.  In  this  way  does  our 
heavenly  Father  show  us  his  paternal  affection,  who  here  in  so 
barbarous  and  savage  a  soil  ministers  to  us  His  favor,  so  that  wf 
learn  from  experience  that  man's  sustenance  depends  not  on 
bread,  but  on  the  word  of  God,  whose  favor  is  here  in  lieu  of  all 
delights  to  us.  There  is  one  thing  that  burdens  and  grieves  us 
not  a  little,  namely,  the  barbarism  of  the  people,  which  is  so  great 
that  there  cannot  be  greater.  I  do  not  refer  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  man-eaters,  a  thing  so  common  with  them,  however,  that 
nothing  is  more  common  :  but  I  mourn  the  gross  dullness  of  their 
minds,  which  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  still  can  be  felt.  Of  a 
father's  virtue,  however  moral,*  they  know  nothing  whatever; 
they  do  not  discern  good  from  bad  ;  in  fine,  the  vices  which  nature 
among  other  nations  naturally  condemns  they  hold  as  virtue :  at 
least  they  do  not  recognize  the  baseness  of  vices,  so  that  in  this 
matter  they  differ  little  from  the  brutes.  But  what  is  most  per- 
nicious of  all,  they  know  not  whether  there  be  a  God,  so  far  are  they 
from  observing  His  law,  or  admiring  His  power  and  goodness: 
hence  it  arises  that  the  hope  of  gaining  them  for  Christ  is  quite 
taken  away  from  us  :  which  as  it  is  of  all  things  most  grievous,  so 
among  others  we  are  most  distressed  by  it.  I  hear,  indeed,  some 
one  oijjecting  that  these  men  are  a  tabula  rasa,  which  can  easily 
be  painted  with  its  colors,  because  it  contains  nothing  contrary  to 
such  a  native  resplendence  of  colors.    But  let  him  know  how  great 


APPENDIX. 


335 


an  obstacle  is  the  diversity  of  language.  Add  to  this  that  we 
have  a  lack  of  interpreters  that  are  faithful  to  the  Lord.  We  had 
intended,  indeed,  to  employ  the  services  and  activity  of  those 
[we  had]  :  but  we  have  found  them  to  be  the  very  limbs  of  Satan, 
to  whom  nothing  is  more  hateful  than  Christ's  holy  Gospel.  There- 
fore in  this  matter  it  is  best  for  us  to  pause  and  wait  patiently, 
until  some  young  men,  whom  the  Sieur  de  Villcj^agnon  has  given 
over  to  be  taught  to  the  barbarians  of  this  country,  shall  have 
learned  to  compreliend  the  native  tongue  of  the  latter.  For,  with 
this  end  in  view,  tiiey  are  spending  their  time  and  occupying  them- 
selves among  them.  Ciod  grant  that  this  may  be  without  any  peril 
to  their  souls  !  For  when  the  Most  High  shall  have  vouchsafed 
us  this  gift,  we  hope  that  this  Edom  will  be  Christ's  possession. 
Meanwhile  we  are  expecting  a  more  numerous  poi)ulation,  by 
association  with  which  both  this  barbarous  nation  may  be  fash- 
ioned, and  our  church  may  be  increased.  Certainly  we  should 
have  an  abundance  of  good  things,  if  there  were  here  a  large 
population.  For  that  the  harvest  is  light  and  moderate  is  occa- 
sioned by  the  fewness  of  the  inhabitants  and  the  sluggishness  of 
the  tillers  of  the  soil.  But  for  all  these  things  the  Most  High  will 
provide.  We  earnestly  desire  to  be  commended  to  the  prayers  of 
all  our  churches.  From  Antarctic  France,  the  day  before  the 
Calends  of  April  [March  31st]  1557.      Your  P.  Richer. 

Complete  extant  Works  of  John  Calvin.  Volume  XVI.,  p.  433. 
No.  2609.  Richer  to  an  uncertain  correspondent.  First  fruits  of 
Brazil. 


JSS7. 


LETTER  OF  VILLEGAGNON  TO  CALVIN. 

[See  above,  pages  42,  43,] 
VILLEGAGNON   CALVINO. 


Exprimi  non  posse  puto  quo  me  affecerint  gaudio  tuas  litera^,  et 
qui  ad  me  una  venere  fratres.  Hue  me  redactum  invenerunt,  ut 
mihi  magistratus  gerendus  esset  et  munus  ecclesiasticum  sub- 
eundum.  Quaj  mihi  res  maximam  anxietatem  obtulerat.  Ozias 
ab  hac  vitae  ratione  me  avertebat :  sed  prasstandum  erat  neoperarii 
nostri  quos  inercede  traduxeram  gentis  adducti  consuetudine  eius 
se  vitiis  contaminarcnt,  aut  religionis  desuetudine  in  a.Tz6(jTaaiv 
devolverentur.  (2uam  mihi  sollicitudinem  ademit  fratrum  adven- 
tus.  Adiecit  hoc  etiam  commodi  quod  si  qua  ex  causa  post  hac 
erit  nobis  laborandum  aut  periculum  incurrendum,  non  deerunt 
qui  sint  mihi  solatio  et  me  consilio  iuvent.  Cuius  rei  facultatem 
abstulerat  pericuii  nostri  suspicio.  Qui  enim  fratres  mecum  a 
Francia  traiecerant,  rerum  nostrarum  iniquitate  permoti  alius  alia 
causa  illata  /Egyptum  repetiverant.  Qui  fuerunt  reiiqui  homines 
egentes  mercede  conduct!  quos  pro  tempore  nancisci  potueram, 
eorum  hasc  erat  conditio  ut  ab  eis  mihi  potius  esset  metuendum 
quam  petendum  solatium.     Haec  autem  huius  rei  causa  est.     Ubi 


336 


APPENDIX. 


^557-  appulimus  simul  omnis  generis  se  nobis  opposuere  diflicultates,  ut 
vix  inirem  rationeni  quid  potissimum  esset  aj^endum.  Regio  erat 
incultissima,  nulla  erant  tecta,  rei  frumentariie  nulla  copia.  Sed 
aderant  homines  feri,  ab  oinni  cultu  ot  humanitate  alieni,  nioribus 
et  d'sciplina  penitus  a  nobis  discre|)aiites,  sine  religione,  honoris, 
virtu.::.,  recti  aut  iniusti  ulla  notitia,  ut  nie  subitet  (lubitatio  an  in 
bestias  humana  specie  prsditas  incidissemus.  Contra  hiec  in- 
commoda  erat  sunimo  studio  et  celeritate  nobis  prospiciendum  et 
coinparanduni  reinedium,  dum  naves  ad  redituni  instruebantur,  ne 
eo  subsidio  destitutes  indigena;,  rerum  nostrarum  capti  cupiditate, 
nos  imparatos  opprinierent  et  interfieerent.  Hue  quoque  aceedebat 
Lusitanorum  infida  vicinitas,  qui  \c/si  |  quam  incolinius  regionem 
tueri  non  potuerunt  hue  tanien  \iios\  esse  intromissos  ferunt  teger- 
rinie  et  insano  odio  prosequ  [niifitr].  Eani  o!)  rem  uno  tempore 
haec  omnia  se  nobis  agenda  proponebant.  Receptui  nostro  locus 
deligendus,  expurgandus  et  complanandus,  munitiones  circumdu- 
cencke,  propugnacula  excitanda,  tecta  ad  impedimentorum  custo- 
diam  exstruenda,  materia  conquirenda,  et  adverse  colle  locis 
impeditissimis,  huineris  ob  bestiarum  penuriani  com|)ortanda. 
Praterea  quod  indigenie  in  diem  vivant  et  agriculturie  non  studeant 
nullo  certo  loco  cibaria  congesta  reperieJKimus,  sed  erat  victus 
noster  e  lonquinquo  carptim  petendus,  Qua  ex  remanum  nostram, 
quantulacunque  esset,  disteneri  oportebat  et  minui.  His  adducti 
tlifficultatii)us  qui  mejeamicitias  causa  sequuti  fuerant  rebus  nostris 
ditTisi,  ut  supra  demonstravimus,  jjedem  retulerunt.  Ego  quoque 
non  nihil  commotus  sum.  Sed  quum  mecum  reputarem  amicis 
affirmasse,  me  hac  ratione  e  Francia  movere  ut  quam  curam  prius 
rebus  humanis  impenderam  eius  studii  comperta  vanitate  regno 
Christi  excolendo  adhiberem,  iudicavi  me  in  voces  et  hominum  re- 
prehensionem  incursurum  et  nomini  meo  iniuriam  facturum,  si 
labor  aut  periculi  opinio  a  coepto  me  deterreret.  Pneterea  quum 
Christi  negotium  gerendum  esset,  credidi  hunc  mihi  non  defuturum 
sed  ad  felicem  exitum  perducturum.  Ergo  me  confirmavi  vimque 
omnem  ingenii  intendi  in  rationem  eius  rei  perficienda^  quam  sum- 
ma  vitas  me£e  devoJone  susceperam.  Hac  autem  via  id  assequi 
me  posse  existimavi,  si  vits  integritate  hoc  mcum  oropositum 
comprobarem,  et  quam  operariorum  manum  traduxeram  ab  infi- 
delium  consortio  et  familiaritate  averterem.  In  earn  sententiam 
animo  meo  inclinato  non  sine  Dei  providentia  factum  esse  visum 
est  ut  in  hasc  negotia  involveremur,  sed  id  accidisse  ne  otio  cor- 
rupti  libidini  et  lascivijE  opevain  daremus.  Prsterea  succurrit 
nihil  esse  tarn  arduum  quin  conando  superari  possit.  Proinde  ab 
animi  fortitudine  petendum  esse  auxilium  et  continent!  libore  fam- 
iliam  exercendam  :  huic  nostro  studio  Dei  beneticieniiam  non 
defuturam.  Itaque  in  insulam  duobus  millibus  passuum  a  conti- 
nenti  remotam  transmissimus,  ibique  domicilio  nostro  locum 
delegi,  ut  adempta  fugas  facu  \ltafc-  vmtiiein  Jiosfraiii  i/i\  officio 
continerem.  et  quod  feminae  sin|i'  7)ir/s  su/s  mm  essenf,  ati]  nos 
commeaturas  delinquendi  occasionem  \prceriperem.  Accidit 
tameti\  ut  e  mercenariis  26  voluptatis  illecti  cupiditate  in  m{eam 
vttam  consfitraverint],  Sed  die  constituta  consilio  exsequendo 
res  mi[^/ /^r  «««/« ^.i']  consciis  enunciata  es  ipso  momento  quo 


I    1 


APPENDIX. 


337 


ad  me  opprimen [«'//;;/]  arniati  admaturabant,  hoc  modo  periculum 
effugimus.  Quinquf  e  incis  domesticis  ad  arnui  convocavi  et  ad- 
veisum  ire  capi.  Turn  tantus  coiiiuratis  incessit  terror  tantaque 
|)ertiirl)atio,  ut  nullo  ne-gotio  facinoris  autores  quatuor,  (lui  inihi 
fucrant  designati.  corripiifriimis  et  in  vincula  coniecerimus.  Eo 
casu  reliqui  consteriuiti  posilis  armis  deliluenint.  Pusliidio  unum 
catenis  exsolvimus  ut  causani  suain  diceret  liberius.  Sod  effuso 
cursu  in  mare  se  prLtcipitein  egit  et  suffocavit.  Keliqui  ut  e  vin- 
culis  causain  dicerent  adducti  sine  qua^stione  ultro  exposuerunt 
qua;  per  indicem  comperta  habuinius.  Unus  ex  ipsis,  paulo  ante 
a  me  castigaius  (juod  se  scorto  coiiiunxissct,  iniquiore  esse  mente 
cognitus  est,  et  ab  se  coniurationis  initium  factum  esse,  atque 
scorti  patrem  muncribus  devinxisse,  ut  eum  e  nostra  potestate  eripe- 
ret,  si  scorti  copulam  prohil)ere  contenderem.  Hie  suspendio 
sceleris  poenas  luit :  duobus  reiiquis  delicti  gratiam  fecinuis,  ita 
tamen  ut  in  catenis  terrain  exercerent.  In  aliis  quid  esset  peccati 
exquirendunj  esse  mihi  non  putavi,  ne  compertum  scelus  inullum 
oniitterem,  aut  si  suppiicio  castigare  vellem,  (juum  facinus  ad  mul- 
titudinem  pertineret,  non  superessent  qui  ojjus  a  nobis  institutum 
|)erticerent.  Itaque  dissimulata  animi  mei  offensione  peccatum 
condonavimus,  et  omnes  aninio  bono  esse  iussimus.  Non  ita  tamen 
a  sollicitudinc  nos  abduximus  quin  quid  in  unoquoque  esset  animi 
ex  studio  curaque  sua  quotidiana  diligentissinie  ven.ircnuir.  Et 
quum  labori  eorum  non  parcerem,  sed  assidua  mea  jMitsentia  ad 
opus  eos  urgerem,  non  solum  pravis  consiliis  vitam  praclusimus 
sed  brevi  tempore  insulam  nostram  munitionibus  [<•/  ?'«//>// |ssimis 
propugnaculis  sa?pivinius.  Interim  pro  ingciiii  mei  \caplu  rjos 
monere  et  a  vitiis  deterrere  non  desistet)am,  atque  Iw^v//  Jes  eorum 
Christiana  imbuere  religione,  indictis  a  me  mane  \et  J  vesperi 
publicis  et  quotidianis  precibus :  qua  cautione  et  diligentia  re- 
liquam  anni  partem  quietiorein  habuimus.  Caterum  earn  quam 
exposuimus  curam  nobis  ademit  navium  nostrarum  adventus.  Hinc 
enim  nactus  sum  viros  a  quibus  non  solum  mihi  sit  niinime  caven- 
dum,  sed  quibus  salutem  meani  tuto  i)ossim  connvittere.  Hac 
oblata  mihi  facultate  decern  ex  omni  copia  delegi,  apud  quos  im- 
perii nostri  potestatem  deposui,  decernens  ut  nulla'  res  posthac  nisi 
consilio  gerantur.  Adeo  si  quid  in  quemquam  durius  statuerem, 
nisi  consilii  autoritas  et  consensus  accederet,  intirmum  esset  et  in- 
ane. Hoc  tamen  mihi  reservavi  ut  lata  sententia  sup])licii  veniam 
dare  mihi  liceat.  Sic  omnibus  prodesse,  nemini  nocere  possum. 
Hie  demum  sunt  artes  quibus  dignitatem  nostram  retinere  tueri  et 
l)ropugnare  constitui. 

Addam  consilium  quod  Uteris  tuis  adhibuisti,  summa  animi  con- 
tentione  operam  daturus  ut  ne  vel  tantillum  ab  eo  deflectamus. 
Hoc  enim  certe  nee  sanctius  nee  rectius  necsanius  ullum  esse  per- 
suasum  habeo.  Quamobrem  etiam  tuas  literas  in  senatu  nostro 
legendas,  deinde  in  acta  transscribendas  curavimus  ut,  si  quando  a 
cursu  aberrare  contigerit,  earum  lectio  ab  errore  revocet.  Dominus 
noster  lesus  Christus  ab  omni  nialo  te  tuosque  coUegas  protegat, 
spiritu  suo  vos  confirmet  vitamque  vestram  ad  opus  ecclesias  suae 
quam  longissime  producat.  P'ratribus  meis  carissimis  Cephce  et  de 
la  Fkche  tidelibus  plurimam  salutem  meis  verbis  velim  impertias. 
CoUignio  e  Francia  antarctica  prid.  Cal.  Aprilis  1557. 


1557- 


33^ 


APPENDIX. 


1557-  Si   ad   Rcnatam   Francias   heram   nostrain  quidpiam  literarum 

dederis,  hanc;  quEeso  nieo  nomine  diligendssime  saluta.  Tui  aman- 
tissimus  cupidissimus  et  ex  animo 

a       1 

loannis  Calvini  Opera  quEe  supersunt  omnia.  Volumen  XVI., 
p.  437,  No.  2612.  Villegajjnon  Caivino.  Historiam  novas  suae 
colonic  in  Francia  antarctica,  quam  vocat,  enarrat. 


( rfanslatio7r.) 

I  deem  it  impossible  to  express  with  what  gladness  your  letters, 
and  the  brethren  that  came  to  me  with  them,  have  affected  me. 
They  found  me  reduced  to  this  necessity,  that  1  must  discliarge 
the  ottice  of  magistrate  and  tal<e  upon  me  the  ecclesiastical  func- 
tions. Tiiis  tiling  iiad  brought  me  very  great  anxiety.  Ozias  dis- 
suaded me  from  tliis  mode  of  life:  but  1  had  to  discliargeit  lest  our 
workmen  whom  1  IkuI  brought  over  en  hire,  led  by  the  custom  of 
that  class,  should  contaminate  themselves  with  vices,  or  through 
disuse  of  religion  should  fall  into  apostasy.  This  solicitude  the 
coming  of  our  liri'thren  removed  from  me.  There  was  this  ad- 
ditional advantage  that,  should  there  hereafter  from  any  cause  he 
labor  or  danger  to  be  undergone  by  us,  there  will  not  i)e  wanting 
those  tiiat  will  be  a  comfort  and  will  help  me  by  their  counsel. 
The  possibility  of  this  had  been  taken  aWay  by  the  suspicion  of 
our  danger.  For  the  brethren  that  had  come  over  with  me  from 
France,  induced  by  the  unfavorable  condition  of  our  ahairs,  one 
alleging  one  reason,  another  another,  had  sought  F.gypt  again. 
Those  who  remained,  needy  men  hired  for  pay,  whom  1  had  ac- 
cording to  circumstances  been  able  to  hnd,  were  of  such  a  cordi- 
tion  that  I  had  rather  to  entertiin  fear  than  to  seek  consolation 
fiom  them.  This  was  the  reason.  'J'lie  moment  we  arrived,  dilh- 
culties  of  every  kind  presented  thems  ■Ives  to  us,  so  that  I  scarcely 
could  determine  what  was  b-^st  to  be  done.  The  regi(Mi  was  most 
uncultivated,  there  were  no  houses,  there  was  no  store  of  grain. 
But  there  were  here  savages,  strangers  to  all  civilization  and  gen- 
tleness, altogether  dissimilar  to  us  in  manners  and  training,  with- 
out religion,  with  no  knowledge  o^  honor,  virtue,  justice  or  injus- 
tice, so  that  the  doulH  entered  my  m.nd  whether  we  had  not  f.iJlen 
upon  beasts  posseffjod  of  human  form.  For  these  disadvantages 
we  had  to  look  out  and  provide  a  remedy,  while  tiie  ships  were 
made  ready  for  a  return,  lest  the  nalivet,  seized  upon  by  the  desire 
for  our  property,  might  overwhelm  us  destitute  of  help  and  un|)re- 
pared,  and  might  s..iy  us.  'l"o  this  was  added  the  treacherous 
proximity  of  'he  Portuguese,  who,  although  they  were  unable  Ui 
retain  the  region  which  we  inhabit,  nevertheless  are  very  greatly  an- 
noyed that  we  have  entered  it,  and  pursue  us  with  insane  haired. 
Consequently  all  these  things  presented  themselves  to  be  done  at 


'  Nlcolaus  (^Dumnd  de    Villegagnoti). 
«tiam  V  repraesentelur. 


Siglum   ita  scri[  '.um   est    ut 


APPENDIX. 


339 


one  and  the  same  time  :  a  spot  was  to  be  selected  'o?- our  reception, 
and  was  to  l)e cleared  and  leveled  ;  fortifications  Wv'ie  to  be  thrown 
about  it,  defenses  were  to  be  reared,  houses  were  to  be  erected  for 
the  protection  of  our  effects,  timber  was  to  be  obtained,  and  to  be 
carried  up  hill,  through  places  very  difficult  of  |)assage,  on  the 
shoulders  of  men,  on  account  of  the  lack  of  beasts  of  burden. 
Moreover  because  the  natives  live  as  best  they  can  from  day  to  day 
and  do  not  practice  agriculture,  we  found  stores  of  food  brought 
together  in  no  certain  place,  but  our  means  of  subsistence  had  to 
be  sought,  now  here  and  now  there,  from  afar.  Hence  our  band, 
small  as  it  was,  had  to  be  scattered  and  diminished.  Influenced 
by  these  difificulties  those  who  had  followed  me  out  of  friendship, 
being  distrustful  of  our  success,  as  1  have  above  shown,  retired. 
I  also  was  somewhat  disturbed.  But  when  I  bethought  myself  that 
I  had  asserted  to  my  friends,  that  I  was  moved  to  de])art  from 
France  for  this  reason,  that,  having  discovered  the  vanity  of  the 
pursuit  of  hun\in  affairs,  I  might  devote  the  care  I  had  previously 
given  '.othem,  to  the  promotion  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  1  judged 
that  I  should  incur  the  talk  and  censure  of  mankind  and  wrong 
my  own  name,  sliould  toil  or  belief  of  danger  deter  me  from  my 
u'^dertaking.  Moreover  when  Christ's  business  was  to  be  trans- 
acted, I  believed  that  He  would  not  desert  me  but  would  lead  me 
to  a  happy  issue.  Therefore  I  took  heart  and  bent  the  whole 
energy  of  my  mind  to  the  mode  of  carrying  to  its  c  impletion  the 
matter  I  had  undertaken  with  the  supreme  devotion  of  my  life. 
This  I  thouglit  I  might  attain  in  this  way  :  name'y,  if  I  should  at- 
test my  purpose  by  the  integrity  of  my  life,  and  preclude  the  band 
of  workmen,  which  I  had  brought  over  with  me,  from  association 
and  familiarity  with  the  unbelievers.  My  mind  being  inclined  to 
this  .ipinion,  it  seemed  to  have  been  brought  to  pass  not  without 
the  providence  of  God  'iiat  we  should  be  involved  in  these  occupa- 
tions, but  that  this  had  happened  in  order  that  we  might  not  be  cor- 
rupted by  idleness,  and  give  ourselves  up  to  lust  and  wantonness. 
Moreover  it  occurred  to  me  that  nothing  is  so  hard  but  that  it  can 
be  overcome  by  effort.  Therefore  help  must  be  sought  from 
fortitiu'e  of  mind,  and  the  household  must  be  trained  by  constant 
labor:  to  this  zeal  of  ours  the  "indness  of  tjod  would  not  be  lack- 
ing. So  we  crossed  to  an  islaiivi  distant  two  miles  from  the  con- 
tinent, and  ihere  I  chose  a  spot  for  our  habitation,  in  order 
that,  the  opportunity  of  flight  being  taken  away,  I  might  keep 
our  band  in  l!ie  path  of  duty  ;  and,  since  the  women  would  not 
come  to  us  without  tlv^ir  luisbands,  I  might  remove  the  occasion 
lor  committing  sin.  It  happened,  however,  that  twenty-six  of  the 
hired  men,  enticed  by  desire,  conspired  against  my  life.  But,  on 
the  day  appointed  for  the  execution  of  th.e  pl.in,  the  matter  being 
announced  to  me  by  one  of  the  cul])rits  ;it  the  very  moment  when 
armed  men  were  preparing  to  overwhelm  me,  we  escaped  the  danger 
in  the  following  manrer  :  I  railed  five  of  my  domestics  to  arms 
and  advanced  to  meet  the  assailants.  Then  such  terror  and  con- 
fusion took  possession  of  the  conspirators,  that  without  any  trouble 
we  arrested  and  p'»t  in  chains  the  foiu*  instigators  of  the  crime  who 
had  been  pointed  out  to  me.    The  rest,  thrown  into  consternation 


1557- 


340 


APPENDIX. 


^557-  ^y  ^^^'^  incident,  laid  down  their  arn^.j  and  skullced  away.  The 
next  day  we  relieved  one  of  them  of  his  chains  in  order  that  he 
might  more  freely  plead  his  cause.  But  starting  off  on  a  run  he 
threw  himself  into  the  sea  and  was  drowned.  The  rest  having 
been  brought  out  to  plead  in  chains,  without  being  put  to  torture, 
of  their  own  accord  confessed  what  we  had  already  learned  through 
the  informer.  One  of  them,  having  been  punished  by  me,  a  short 
time  before,  because  he  had  had  to  do  with  a  dissolute  woman, 
was  known  to  be  particularly  ill-affected,  and  to  have  bribed  the 
woman's  father  to  rescue  him  fiOm  our  power,  in  case  I  should 
apply  myself  vigorously  to  prevent  his  intercourse  with  her.  This 
man  paid  the  penalty  of  his  crime  by  being  hung  :  the  other  two  I 
pardoned,  but  ordered  that  they  should  be  set  at  work  in  the  fields 
in  chains.  I  thought  it  best  not  to  investigate  the  culpability  of 
the  rest,  lest  I  might  leave  a  discovered  crime  unpunished,  or,  if  I 
wished  to  punish  with  death,  as  the  crime  involved  a  great  number 
of  persons,  there  might  not  survive  enough  men  to  accomplish  the 
work  begun  by  us.  Therefore,  dissembling  the  offense  committed, 
we  forgave  the  sin  and  bade  all  be  of  gooci  cheer.  We  could  not 
so  free  ourselves,  however,  from  solicitude,  as  not  to  make  most 
diligent  search  to  discover  what  was  every  man's  disposition  from 
his  zeal  and  daily  pursuits.  And  inasmuch  as  I  did  not  spare  the 
labors  of  the  men,  hut  urged  them  on  to  the  work  by  my  continual 
presence,  not  only  did  we  preclude  their  life  from  bad  designs,  but, 
in  a  short  space  of  time,  we  surrounded  our  island  with  fortifica- 
tions and  very  strong  defenses.  Meantime,  according  to  the  power 
of  my  understanding,  I  ceased  not  to  admonish  them  and  deter 
them  from  vices,  and  to  imbue  their  minds  with  the  Christian  re- 
ligion, having  appointed  public  daily  prayers  morning  and  evening. 
In  consequence  of  this  caution  and  religion,  we  had  more  quiet 
during  the  rest  of  the  year.  But  the  advent  of  our  ships  took 
away  the  care  which  we  have  set  forth.  For  here  have  I  found 
men,  not  only  from  whom  I  need  in  no  wise  stand  on  my  guard, 
but  to  whom  I  can  securely  commit  my  safety.  Since  the  ability 
has  thus  been  offered  to  me,  I  have  selected  out  of  my  entire  force 
ten  men  in  whose  hands  I  have  placed  the  power  in  our  govern- 
ment, decreeing  that  hereafter  nnfliing  shall  be  done  without  the 
council.  Thus  if  I  should  decide  with  too  much  harshness  against 
any  one,  the  sentence  will  be  of  no  effect  and  void,  unless  the  au- 
thorization and  agreement  of  the  council  be  added.  I  have,  how- 
ever, reserved  for  myself  the  right  to  pardon,  in  case  a  sentence  to 
death  has  been  rendered.  Thus  I  can  benefit  all,  be  hurtful  to  no 
one.  These  are  the  arts  by  means  of  which  I  have  determined  to 
retain,  protect  and  defend  ourd'gnity. 

I  shall  add,  respecting  the  advice  which  you  have  given  in  your 
letters,  that  I  shall  give  the  greatest  attention  in  order  that  we  may 
not  turn  aside  from  it  even  in  the  slightest  particular.  Of  this  1 
am  persuaded,  that  no  advice  is  more  holy,  or  just,  or  sound  than 
this.  Wherefore  also  we  have  had  your  letters  read  in  our  sen- 
ate, and  then  transcribed  upon  the  records,  in  order  that,  if  at  any 
time  it  should  ch-.nce  that  we  stray  from  the  course,  the  reading  of 
them  may  recall  us  from  our  error.     May  our  Lord  Jesus  Cluist 


APPENDIX. 


341 


protect  you  and  your  colleagues  from  all  evil,  may  He  confirm  you 
by  His  Spirit,  and  lengthen  out  as  far  as  possible  your  life  for  the 
work  of  His  Church.  I  beg  you  to  salute  in  my  name  my  very 
dear  brethren  the  faithful  Cephas  and  De  la  Fleche.  At  Coligny 
in  Antarctic  France,  the  day  before  the  Calends  of  April  [Marcn 
3'st.]  1557. 

Should  you  write  to  Rcfiie  of  France,  our  Mistress,  I  beg  you 
to  salute  her  most  diligently  in  my  name. 

Your  most  loving,  eager  and  from  the  heart, 

a     I 

Nf 
Complete  extant  Works  of  John  Calvin.   Volume  XVI.,  p.  437. 
No.  2612.     Villegagnon  to  Calvin.     He  narrates  the  history  of  his 
colony  in  Antarctic  France,  as  he  calls  it. 


1557. 


COMMISSION  OF  HENRY  IV.  TO  DE  MONTS. 

[See  above,  pages  86-88.] 

"Commission  du  Roy  au  Sieur  de  Monts,  pour  I'habitation  ^s 
terres  de  la  Cadie,  Canada,  &  autres  endroits  en  la  Nouvelle 
France.  Ensemble  les  defenses  4  tous  autres  de'  traffiquer  avec 
les  sauvages  desdittes  terres. 

"  Henry  par  la  grace  de  Dieu  Roy  de  France  &  de  Navarre,  A 
notre  cher  &  bien  ame  le  sieur  de  Monts,  Gentii  honime  ordinaire 
de  notre  Chambre,  Salut.  Comme  notre  plus  grand  soin  et  travail 
soit  &  ait  toujours  est6,  depuis  notre  avenement  i  cette  Couronnc, 
de  la  maintenir  et  conserver  en  son  ancienne  dignite,  grandeur  & 
splendeur.  d'etendre  &  amplifier  autant  que  legitimement  se  peut 
faire,  les  bornes  &  limites  d'icelle.  Nous  estans  des  long  temps  a, 
informez  de  la  situation  &  condition  des  pais  &  territoire  de  la 
Cadie,  Meuz  sur  toutes  choses  d'un  zele  singulier  &  d'une  devote 
&  ferme  resolution  que  nous  avons  prinse,  avec  I'aide  &  assistance 
de  Dieu,  autheur,  distributeur  &  protetteur  de  tous  Royaumes  & 
etats,  de  faire  convertir,  amener  &  instruire  les  peu])les  qui  habitent 
en  cette  contree,  de  present  gens  barbares,  athees,  sans  foy  ne 
Religion,  au  Christianisme,  &  en  la  creance  &  profession  de  notre 
foy  &  religion  ;  &  les  retirer  de  I'ignorance  &  infidelity  ou  ilz  sont. 
Ayans  aussi  des  longtemps  reconeu  sur  le  rapport  des  Capitaines 
de  navires,  pilotes,  marchans  &  autres  qui  de  longue  main  ont 
hant^,  frequente,  &  trattiqud  avec  ce  qui  se  truuve  de  peupes 
esdits  lieux,  combien  peut  estre  fructueuse,  commode  &  utih;  A 
nous,  k  nos  6tats  &  sujets,  la  demeure,  possession  &  habitation 
d'iceux  pour  le  grand  &  apparent  profit  qui  se  retirera  par  la 
grande  frequentation  &  habitude  que  Ton  aura  avec  les  peuples  qui 
s"y  trouvent,  &  le  trafic  &  commerce  qui  se  pourra  par  ce  moyen 

'  Nicholas  ( Durand  de  Villegagnon).  The  abbreviation  is  thus  writ- 
ten in  order  that  the  V  may  also  be  represented. 


1603. 


II 


342 


APPENDIX. 


1603. 


seurement  trailer  et  negocier.  Nous  pour  ces  causes  k  plein  con- 
fians  de  voire  grande  prudence,  &  en  la  conoissance  &  experience 
que  vous  avez  de  la  qualite,  condilion  &  situalion  dudil  pais  de  la 
Cadie  :  pour  les  diverses  navigalions,  voyages,  &  frequentations 
que  vous  avez  fails  en  ces  lerres,  &  aulres  prociies  &  circonvoisines  : 
nous  asseurans  que  celle  noire  resolution  &  intenlion,  vous  estant 
commise,  vous  la  s^aurez  attenlivement,  diligeninient,  &  non  mollis 
courageusenienl,  &  valeureuseinenl  executcr  &  conduire  i  la  per- 
feclion  que  nous  desirons,  Vous  avons  expressenient  commis  iS: 
etabli,  &  par  ces  presenles  signees  de  notre  main,  Vous  coni- 
mellons,  ordonnons,  faisons,  constituons  &  etablissons,  nckre 
Lieulenant-general,  pour  represenler  noire  persone,  aux  pais,  ter- 
ritoires,  cotes  &  contins  de  la  Cadie :  A  commencer  des  la 
quaranlieme  degre  jusques  au  quarante-sixi^me.  El  en  icelle 
elendue  ou  partie  d'icelle,  ianl  &  si  avanl  que  faire  se  pourra, 
^tablir,  etendre  &  faire  conoitre  notre  nom,  puissance  «i  aulhorite. 
El  cl  icelle  assujellir,  submeltre  &  faire  obeir  lous  les  peuples  de 
la  dite  lerre,  &  les  circonvoisins :  El  |)ar  le  moyen  d'icelles  tk 
toutes  aulres  voyes  liciles,  les  appeller,  faire  inslruire,  provpquer  & 
emouvoir  A  la  conoissance  de  i)ieu,  &  i  la  lumiere  de  la  Foy  & 
religion  Chretienne,  la  y  utablir:  &  en  I'exercice  &  profession 
d'icelle  mainlenir,  garder  &  conserver  lesdils  peuples,  &  lous 
aulres  Iiabituez  esdits  lieux,  &  en  paix,  repos  &  Iranquillite  y 
coniander  tant  par  mer  que  par  lerre  :  Ordonner,  decider,  &  faire 
executer  tout  ce  c|ue  vous  jugerez  se  devoir  &  pou\oir  faire,  pour 
mainlenir,  garder  &  conserver  lesdils  lieux  souz  notre  puissance  & 
aulborite,  par  les  formes,  voyes  &  moyens  prescrits  par  nos  ordon- 
nances.  Et  pour  y  avoir  egard  avec  vous,  commeltre,  ^lablir  & 
constiluertous  OfTiciers,  lant  ^s  affaires  de  la  guerre  que  de  lustice 
&  police  pour  la  premiere  fois,  &  de  !A  en  avanl  nous  les  nommer 
&  presenter :  jjour  en  eslre  par  nous  dispose  &  donner  les  lettrcs, 
tiltres  &.  provisions  lels  qu'ilz  seronl  necessaires.  El  selon  les  oc- 
c  Tences  des  affaires,  vous  memes  avec  I'avis  de  gens  prudens  & 
capables,  prescrire  souz  notre  bon  plaisir,  des  loix,  staluls  &  ordon- 
nances  aulanl  qu'il  se  pourra  conformes  aux  nolres,  nolammenl  es 
clioses  &  malieres  ausquelles  n'esl  pourveu  par  icelles  :  trailer  & 
contracter  i  mcnieeffel  paix,  aliance  &  confederation,  bonne  amitie, 
correspondance  &  communication  avec  les  dits  peuples  &  leurs 
Princes,  ou  aulres  ayans  pouvoir  &  commandemenl  sur  eux  : 
Entretenir,  garder  &  soigneusenient  obseruer,  les  traittez  &  alli- 
ances donl  vous  conviendrez  avec  eux  ;  pourveu  qu'ilz  y  satisfacent 
de  leur  part.  Et  i  ce  defaul,  leur  faire  guerre  ouverle  pour  les 
contraindre  &  amener  k  telle  raison,  que  -  ous  jugerez  necessaire, 
pour  riionneur,  obeissance  &  service  de  Dieu,  &  I'etabiissement, 
manutention  &  conservation  de  notredite  aulhorite  parmi  eux:  du 
moins  pour  liunler  &  frequenter  par  vous,  &  tous  noz  sujets  avec 
eux,  en  loute  asseurance,  liberie,  frequetatio  &  conninmication,  y 
negotier  &  trafiquer  aimablement  &  paisiblemenl.  Leur  tlonnor  & 
octroyer  graces  &  privileges,  charges  &  honneurs.  Lequel  entitr 
pouvoir  susdil,  Voulons  aussi  &  ordonnons :  Que  vous  ayez 
sur  lous  nosdits  sujets  &  autrrs  qui  se  Iransporteront  & 
voudront  s'habituer,   trafiquer,    negotiei    &   resider  esdits  lieux. 


APPENDIX. 


343 


tenir,  prendre,  reserver,  &  vous  a])proprier  ce  que  vous  voudrez  & 
verrez  vous  estre  plus  commode  &  propre  a  votre  charge,  qualite& 
vsage  desdites  terres,  en  departir  teH.es  parts  &  portions,  leur 
donner  &  attribuer  tels  tiltres,  honneurs,  droits,  pouvoirs  & 
facultez  que  vous  verrez  besoin  estre,  seion  les  qualitez,  conditions 
&  merilts  des  personnes  du  pais  ou  autres.  Sur  tout  peupler, 
cultiver  &  faire  iiabituer  lesdites  terres  ie  plus  proniptenient, 
soigneusenient  &  dextrement,  que  le  temps,  les  lieux,  &  commo- 
ditez  le  pourront  permettre :  en  faire  ou  faire  faire  A  cette  tin  la 
decouverture  &  reconnoissance  en  I'etendue  des  cotes  maritinies  & 
antres  contrees  de  la  terre  ferme,  que  vous  ordonnerez  &  prescrirez 
en  I'espace  susdits  du  quarantieme  degre  jusques  au  quarante- 
sixieme,  ou  autrement  tant  &  si  avant  qu'il  se  pourra  le  long 
desdites  cotes,  &  en  la  terre  forme.*  Faire  soigneusement  re- 
cherclier  &  reconoitre  toutes  sortes  de  mines  d'or  &  d'argent, 
cuivre  &  autres  metaux  &  mineraux,  les  faire  foui'ller,  tirer,  purger 
&  afliner,  pour  estre  convertis  en  vsage,  disposer  suiv,!nt  que  nous 
avons  prescrit  paries  Edits  &  reglemens  que  nous  avons  fait  en  ce 
Royaume  du  profit  &.  emolurneat  d'icelles,  par  vous  ou  ceux  (\ue 
vous  aurez  etablis  a  cet  effet,  nous  reservans  seuiement  le  dixienie 
denier  de  ce  qui  proviendra  de  celles  d'or,  d'argent,  &  cuivre, 
vous  affectans  ce  que  nous  pourrions  prendre  ausdits  autres 
metaux  &  mineraux,  pour  vous  aider  &.  soulager  aux  grandes 
depenses  que  la  charge  susdite  vous  pourra  apj.orter.  \  uulans 
cependant;  que  pour  votre  seurete  &  comniodite,  &  dtMous  ceux 
de  noz  sujets  qui  s'en  iront,  habilueront  &  tratiqutront  esdites 
terres;  conime  generalcment  de  tons  autres  qui  s'y  accommocleront 
souz  notre  puissance  &  authorite,  Vous  puissiez  faire  batir  & 
construire  vn  on  plusieurs  forts,  places,  villes  &;  toutes  autres 
maisons,  demeures  &  habitations,  ports,  havres,  retraites,  & 
logemens  que  vous  conoitrez  propres,  vtiles  &  necessaires  k  I'ex- 
ecution  de  ladite  entreprise.  Etai)lir  garnisons  &  gens  de  guerre 
A  la  garde  d'iceux.  Vous  aider  &  ](revaloir  aux  tffets  susdits  des 
vagabons.  personnes  oyseuses  &  sans  aveu,  tant  es  villes  qu'aux 
champs,  &  des  condamnez  A  banissement  perpetuels,  ou  A  trois  ans 
au  moins  hors  notre  Royaume,  pourveu  que  ce  soit  par  avis  & 
consen'ement  &  de  I'autiiorite  de  nos  Ofilicierh.  Outre  ce  que 
dessus,  &  qui  vous  est  d'ailleurs  prescrit,  mande  &  ordonne  par  les 
commissions  &  jiouvoirs  C|ue  vous  a  donnez  nostre  trescher  cousin 
le  sieur  d'Ami)ville  Admiral  de  France,  jjour  ce  qui  concerne  le 
fait  &  la  charge  de  I'Admiraute,  en  I'exploit,  expedition  &  execu- 
tion des  choses  susdites,  faire  generaiement  pour  la  conquete, 
peujjlement,  habituation  &  conservation  de  ladite  terre  de  la 
Cadie,  &  descetes,  territoires,  circonvoisins  &  de  leurs  appart- 
enances,  &  dependances  souz  notre  nom  &  authorite,  ce  que  nous 
monies  ferions  &  faire  pourrions  si  presens  en  i)ersone  y  estions, 
iaqoit  que  la  cas  requit  mandement  plus  special,  que  nous  ne  le 
vous  prescrivons  par  cesdites  presentes :  au  contenu  desquelles, 
Mandons,  ordonnons  &  tres-expressement  enjoignons  A  tons  nos 
iusticiers,  otliciers  &  sujets,  de  se  conformer:  Et  A  vous  obel'r  & 
entendre  en  toutes  &  chacunes  les  choses  sudites,  leurs  circon- 
stances  &  dependances.    Vous  donner  aussi  en  I'execution  d'icelles 


1603. 


*  Ferine. 


344 


APPENDIX. 


1603.  tout  ayde  &  confort,  main-forte  &  assistance  dont  vous  aurez 
besoin  &  seront  par  vous  requis,  le  tout  i  peine  de  rebellion  & 
desobeissance.  Et  i  tin  que  persone  ne  pretende  cause  d'ignorance 
de  cette  notre  intention,  &  se  vueille  imniiscer  en  tout  ou  partie,  de 
la  charge,  dignite  &  authorite  que  nous  vous  donnons  par  ces 
presentes :  Nous  avons  de  noz  certaine  science,  pleine  puissance  & 
authorite  Royale,  revoque,  supprime  et  declare  nuls  &  de  nul  effet 
ci  apres  &  des  i  present  tous  autres  pouvoirs  &  Commissions, 
Lettres  &  expeditions  donnez  &  delivrez  i  quelque  persone  que  ce 
soit,  pour  decouvrir,  conquerir,  peupler  &  habiter  en  I'etendue 
susdite  desdites  terres  situees  depuis  le  dit  quarantieme  degre, 
iusques  au  cpiarantesixieme  quelles  qu'elles  soient.  Et  outre  ce 
mandons  &  ordonnons  i  tous  nosdits  Otficiers  de  quelque  qualite 
&  condition  (ju'iis  soient,  que  ces  presentes,  ou  Vidimus  deuement 
collationne  d'icelles  par  I'vn  de  nos  amez  &  feaux  Conseillers. 
Notaires  &  Secretaires,  ou  autre  Nolaire  Royal,  ilz  facent  a 
votre  requite,  poursuite  &  diligence,  ou  de  noz  Procureurs, 
lire,  publier  &  registrer  es  registres  de  leurs  iurisdictions,  pouvoirs 
&  detrois,  cessans  en  tant  qu'i  eux  appartiendra,  tous  troubles  & 
empichemens  k  ce  contraires.  Car  tel  est  notre  plaisir.  Donne  a 
Fontaine-bleau  le  huitieme  jour  de  Novembre;  Fan  de  grace  mil 
six  cens  trois:  Et  de  notre  regne  le  quinzienie.  Sign^,  JHENRY, 
Et  plus  bas,  Par  le  Roy,  POTIER.  Et  scelle  sur  simple  queue  de 
cire  iaune. 

(  Translation) 

[See  above,  page  gy,  note.] 

"  The  Patent  of  the  ffrench  Kinge  to  Mounsieur  De  Monts  for 
the  inhabitinge  of  the  countries  La  Cadia,  Canada,  and  other  places 
in  New  ffraunce. " 

(British  State  Papers,  Colonial,  1 574-1621,  Vol.  i..  No.  10.) 
Henery  by  the  grace  of  God  Kinge  of  ffrance  and  Navarre. 
To  our  deare  a. id  vvelbeloved  tiie  Lord  of  Monts,  one  of  the  Ordi- 
nary Gentlemen  of  our  Chamber,  greetinge.  As  our  greatest  care 
and  labour  is,  and  hath  alwaies  beene,  since  our  cominge  to  this 
Crowne,  to  maintaine  and  conserue  it  in  the  auntient  dignity, 
greatnes  and  splendour  thereof,  to  extend  and  amplifie,  as  much  as 
lawfully  may  bee  done,  the  bounds  and  limitls  of  the  same.  Wee 
beinge  of  a  longe  time  informed  of  the  scitua^on  and  condi^on  of 
the  lands  and  territories  of  La  Cadia  moved  above  all  thinges  with 
a  singuler  zeale,  and  devout  and  constant  resolugon  vv''''  wee  have 
taken  with  the  helpe  and  assistance  of  God  Authour  Distributour 
and  Protectour  of  all  Kingdomes  and  estates  to  cause  the  people 
w'^''  doe  inhabite  the  countrey,  mer  at  this  pfite  *  time  barbarous, 
"presente.  Atheists  without  faith  or  religion,  to  be  conuerted  to  Christianity, 
and  to  the  beleife  and  profession  of  our  faith  and  religion,  and  to 
drawe  them  from  the  ignorance  and  vnbeleife  wherein  they  are, 
havinge  also  of  a  longe  time  knovven  by  the  relagon  of  theSeaCap- 
tt  ines,  Pylotts,  Merchants  and  others,  who  of  longe  time  have 
haunted,  frequented,  and  trafficked  with  the  people  that  are  found 
in  the  said  places,  how  fruitfuU,  commodious,  and  profitable  may  bee 


APPENDIX. 


345 


vnto  vs.  to  our  estates  and  subiects,  the  dwellinge  possession  and  1603. 
habita^on  of  those  countries,  for  the  great  and  apparant  profit 
w°^  may  i)ee  dravven'  by  the  greater  frequenta^on  and  habitude 
w"*"  may  be  had  with  the  people  that  are  found  there,  and  the 
Trafficke  and  commerce  w''''  may  bee,  by  that  meanes  safely 
treated  and  negotiated.  Wee  then  for  these  causes  fully  trustinge 
on  your  great  wisedome,  and  in  the  knowledge  and  experience  that 
you  have  of  the  quaiitie,  condi^on  and  situagon  of  the  said  Countrie 
of  La  Cadia  :  for  the  divers  and  sundry  naviga^ons,  voyages,  and 
frequentagons  that  you  have  made  into  those  parts  and  others 
neere  and  borderinge  vpon  it.  Assuringe  our  selues  that  this  our 
resolu9on  and  intention,  beinge  committed  vnto  you,  you  will  atten- 
tively, diligently,  and  no  less  couragiously  and  valorously  execute 
and  bringe  to  such  perfec^on  as  wee  desire :  Have  expressely  ap- 
pointed and  established  you,  and  by  these  presents,  signed  with 
our  owne  hands,  doe  committ,  ordaine,  make,  constitute  and  estab- 
lish you,  our  Lievtcnant  generall,  for  to  represent  our  person  in  the 
countries,  territories,  coasts,  and  confines  of  La  Cadia.  To  begin 
from  the  40  degree  to  the  46.  And  in  the  same  distance,  or  part 
of  it,  as  farre  as  may  bee  done,  to  establish,  extend,  and  make  to 
bee  knowen  our  name,  might  and  authoritie.  And  vnderthe  same 
to  subiect,  submitt  and  bringe  to  obedience  all  the  people  of  the 
said  land  and  the  borderers  thereof :  And  by  the  meanes  thereof 
and  all  lawfull  waies,  to  call,  make,  instruct,  provoke  and  incite 
them  to  the  knowledge  of  god,  and  to  the  light  of  the  faith  and 
Christian  religion,  to  establish  it  there  :  And  in  the  exercise  and 
|)rofession  of  the  same,  keepe  and  conserue  the  said  people,  and  all 
other  inhabitants  in  the  said  places,  and  there  to  commaund  in 
peace,  rest,  and  tranquillity  as  well  by  sea,  as  by  land  :  to  ordaine, 
decide  and  cause  to  be  executed  all  that  w<^''  you  shall  iudge  fitt 
and  necessary  to  bee  done,  for  to  maintaine,  keepe  and  conserue 
the  said  places  vnder  our  power  &  authority  by  the  formes,  waies 
and  meanes  prescribed  by  our  lawes.  And  for  to  have  there  a 
care  of  the  same  with  you  to  appoint,  establish  and  constitute  all 
Officers,  as  well  in  the  affaires  of  warre,  as  for  Justice  and  policie, 
for  the  first  tinif,  and  from  thence  forward  to  name  and  present 
them  vnto  vs,  for  to  bee  disposed  by  vs,  and  to  give  Ires,*  titles,  and  *lettres. 
such  provisoes,  as  shalbee  necessarie.  And  accordinge  to  the  oc- 
currences of  affaires  your  selfe  with  the  aduice  of  wise,  and  capable 
men,  to  prescribe  vnder  our  good  pleasure,  lawes,  statutes,  and 
ordinances  conformable,  asmuch  as  may  be  possible,  vnto  ours, 
specially  in  thinges  and  matters  that  are  not  provided  by  them. 
To  treate  and  contract  to  the  same  effect,  peace,  alliance,  and  con- 
federacy, good  amity  correspondency,  and  communica^on  with  the 
said  people  and  their  princes,  or  others,  havinge  power  or  commaund 
over  them  :  To  entertaine,  keepe  and  carefully  to  obserue,  the 
treatises,  and  .alliances  wherein  you  shall  covenant  with  them  ;  vpon 
condi^on  that  they  themselves  performe  the  same  of  their  part. 
And  for  wont  thereof  to  make  open  warre  against  them,  to  con- 
straine  and  bringe  them  to  such  reason  as  you  shall  thinke  needfull, 
for  the  honour,  obedience,  and  seruice  of  god,  and  establishment, 
maintenance  and  conseruagon  of  our  said  authoritie  amongst  them  : 


346 


APPENDIX. 


1603. 
'  favours. 


The 
contents 

of  the 
Patent 

being 
from  40 

to  46. 


at  least  to  haunt  and  frequent  by  you,  and  all  our  subjects  with 
them,  in  all  assurance,  libertie,  frequenta5on,  and  conimunica^on 
there  to  negociate  and  trafticke  lovingly,  and  peaceably.  To  give 
and  grauni  vnto  them  favours*,  and  priviledges,  charges  and 
honours.  W-'''  intire  power  abovesaid,  we  will  likewise  and  or- 
daine,  that  you  have  over  all  our  said  subiects  that  will  goe  in  that 
voyage  with  you  and  inhabite  there,  trathcke,  negociate  and  re- 
maine  in  the  said  places,  to  retaine,  take,  reserue,  and  appropriate 
vnto  you,  what  you  will  and  shall  see  to  bee  most  commodious  for 
you,  and  proper  for  your  charge,  qualitie,  and  vse  of  the  said  lands, 
to  distribute  such  parts  and  porcjons  thereof,  to  give  and  attribute 
vnto  them  such  titles,  honors,  rights,  powers  and  faculties  as  you 
shall  see  necessary,  accordinge  to  the  qualities,  condic^ons  and 
meritts  of  the  persons  of  the  same  Countrie  or  others.  Cheifely  to 
populate,  to  manure,  and  to  make  the  said  lands  to  be  inhaliited  as 
spedily,  carefully,  and  skilfully,  as  time,  places  and  commodities 
may  permitt.  To  make  thereof,  or  cause  to  bee  made  to  that  end, 
discoverie  and  view  alonge  the  maritime  Coasts  and  other  Countries 
of  the  maine  land,  w*-"''  you  shall  order  and  prescribe  in  the  foresaid 
space  0/  the  40  dci^rcc  to  the  46  dei^ree,  or  otherwise,  asmuch  and 
as  farre  as  may  bee,  alonge  the  said  Coast,  and  in  the  firme  land. 
To  make  carefully  to  be  sought  and  marked  all  sorts  of  mines  of 
gold  and  siluer.  Copper,  and  other  Metalls  and  Mineralls,  to  make 
them  to  be  digged,  drawne  from  the  earth,  purified,  and  refined  for 
to  bee  conucTtcd  into  vse,  to  dispose  accordinge  as  wee  have  pre- 
scribed by  Edicts  and  orders,  w*^**  wee  have  made  in  this  Realme 
of  the  prufitt  and  benefitt  of  them,  by  you  or  them  whom  you  shall 
establish  to  that  effect,  reseruinge  vnto  vs  onely  the  tenth  peny,  of 
that  w*-"**  shall  issue  from  them  of  gold,  silver  and  copper,  leavinge 
vnto  you  that  w*^""  wee  might  take  of  the  other  said  Metalls  and 
Mineralls,  lor  to  aide  and  ease  you  in  the  great  expences  that  the 
foresaid  charge  may  bringe  vnto  you  ;  Willinge  in  the  meane  while 
that  aswell  for  your  securitie  and  commoditie,  as  for  the  securitie  and 
commoditie  of  all  our  subiects,  who  will  goe,  inhabite,  and  trafficke 
in  the  said  lands:  as  generally  of  all  others  that  will  accommodate 
themselues  there  vnder  our  power  and  authoritie  ;  you  may  cause 
to  bee  built,  and  frame  one  or  many  fforts,  places,  Townes,  and 
all  other  houses,  dwellings  and  habitagons.  Ports,  havens,  retiringe 
places  and  lodgings,  as  you  shall  knowe  to  bee  fitt,  profitable  and 
necessary  for  the  performinge  of  the  said  enterprise.  To  establish 
garrisons  and  souldiers  for  the  keepinge  of  them.  To  aide  and 
serue  you  for  the  effects  abovesaid  with  the  vagrant,  idle  persons 
and  masterlesse,  as  well  out  of  Townes  as  of  the  Countrey  :  and  with 
them  that  bee  condemned  to  perpetuall  banishment,  or  for  three 
yeares  at  the  least  out  of  our  Realme  :  Provided  alwaies  that  it 
bee  done  with  the  aduice,  consent,  and  authoritie  of  our  officers. 
Over  and  besides  that  w"''  is  above  mengoned  (and  that  w''*'  is 
moreover  prescribed  commaunded  and  ordained  vnto  you  by  the 
Commissions  and  powers  w'^^  our  most  deare  Cousin,  the  lord  of 
Ampuilie  Admirall  of  ffraunce  hath  given  vnto  you  for  that  w"''  con- 
cerneth  the  affaires  and  the  charge  of  the  Admiralitie,  in  the  ex- 
ploit, expedigon  and  executinge  of  the  thinges  abovesaid)  to  doe 


APPENDIX. 


347 


1603. 


generally  whatsoever  may  make  for  the  conquest,  peoplinge,  in- 
habitinge  and  preseruagon  of  the  said  land  of  La  Cadia,  and  of  the 
Coasts,  territories  adioyninge,  and  of  tlieir  appurtenances  and  de- 
pendenciLs,  vnder  our  name  and  authoritie,  whatsoever  our  selues 
would  and  might  doe,  if  wee  were  there  present  in  person,  although 
that  the  case  should  require  a  more  spiall*  order  then  wee  prescrii)e  *8peciall. 
vnto  you  by  these  presents.  To  the  contents  whereof  wee  com- 
maund,  ordaine,  and  most  expressely  doe  inioyne  all  our  Justices, 
Officers,  and  subiects  to  conforme  themselves :  And  to  obey  and 
give  attention  vnto  you,  in  all  and  everie  the  things  abovesaid, 
their  circumstancies  and  dependencies.  Also  to  give  vnto  you  in 
the  executinge  of  them,  all  such  aide  and  comfort,  helpe  and  assist- 
ance, as  you  shall  have  need  of,  and  whereof  they  shall  be  by  you 
required,  and  this  vpon  paine  of  disobedience  and  rebellion.  And 
to  the  end  no  body  may  pretend  cause  of  ignorance,  of  this  our 
intention,  and  to  busie  himselfe  in  all,  or  in  parte  of  the  charge, 
dignitie,  and  authoriti"  w"^**  wee  give  vnto  you  by  these  presents  : 
Wee  have  of  our  certaine  knowledge,  full  power,  and  regall  author- 
itie, revoked,  suppressed  and  declared  voide,  and  of  none  effect 
hereafter,  and  from  this  present,  all  other  powers  and  Comissions, 
Itres+and  expedi^ons  given  and  deliuered  to  any  person  soeuer,  for  t  lettres. 
to  discover,  people,  and  inhabite  in  the  foresaid  extention  of  the 
said  lands  scituated  from  the  said  40  degree  to  the  46,  whatsoever 
they  bee.  And  furthermore  wee  command  and  ordaine  all  our  said 
officers  of  what  qualitie  and  condi^on  soever  they  bee,  tliat  after 
those  pnts  t  or  the  duplicate  of  them  shallbee  duely  examined  by  t  presents. 
one  of  our  beloved  and  trustie  Counsellors,  Notaries,  and  Secreta- 
ries, or  other  Notarie  Royall,  they  doe  vpon  our  request,  demaund, 
and  sute,  or  vpon  the  sute  of  any  our  Aiturneys,  cause  the  same 
to  be  read,  published,  and  recorded  in  the  records  of  their  iurisdic- 
90ns,  powers,  and  precincts,  seekinge,  as  m|u|ch  as  shall  apper- 
teine  vnto  them,  to  quiet  and  appease  all  troubles  and  hindtrance 
w"**  may  contradict  the  same,  ffor  such  is  our  pleasure.  Given 
at  ffountain-bleau  the  8  day  of  November  :  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord 
1603  :  And  of  our  Raigne  the  15.  signed  Henery  :  and  vnderneath, 
by  the  Kinge,  Potier ;  And  sealed  vpon  single  labell  with  yellow 
waxe. 

Indorsed  : — "  The  copie  of  the  ffrench  Kings  Patent  to  Moun- 
sieur  de  Monts  of  La  Cadia  Canada  &c. 
granted  8  Noveb  1603, 
fro  40  to  46  degrees. 

Acadia,  Canada. 
&c. 
Nov''   1603." 


348 


APPENDIX. 


1621. 


PETITION  OF  THE  WALLOONS  AND  FRENCH. 
[State  Papers,  Holland,  1622,'  Jan.-Mar.,  Jiundle  No.  145.] 

[See  above,  pages  158-163.] 

Sera  treshumblement  supplie  Monseigneur 
L'Ambassadeur  du  Serenissime  Roy  de  La- 
grande  liretagne  de  nous  donner  auis  et 
responce  sur  les  articles  quj  s'ensuiuent. 

i 

Premierement  sil  plairoit  a  sa  majeste  de  permettre  a  cincquante 
ou  soixante  families  tant  de  Wallons  que  frangois  tous  de  la  religion 
refformee  d'aller  s'habituer  en  Virginia  terre  de  son  obeissance ;  <k 
sil  ne  luy  plairoit  pas  prandre  leur  protection  et  sauuegarde 
enuers  et  contre  tous  et  les  maintenir  en  leur  religion. 

ij 

Et  a  cause  quaus-dites  families  se  pourroit  trouuer  pres  de  trois 
cens  personnes,  quaussi  ils  souhaiteroient  mener  auecq  eus  quan- 
tity de  bestail,  tant  pour  la  culture  de  la  terre  que  pour  leur 
entretien  :  etquaces  causes  il  leur  seroit  besoin  d'  auoir  plusd'une 
nauire  :  sj  sadicte  majeste  ne  voudroit  point  les  en  accommoder 
d'une  esquippee  et  munie  de  canons  et  aues  amies,  sur  lequelle  ils 
accompliroient  (auecq  cclle  quils  pourroient  fournir)  leur  voyage 
retourner  querir  des  commodites  aus  lieus  concedes  par  sadite 
majesty  ensemble  transporter  celles  du  pays. 

«ij 

Si  arriues  ausdict  pays,  elle  ne  leur  voudroit  pas  permettre  de  choisir 
entre  les  lieus  non  encore  cultiues  par  ceus  quit  a  pleu  a  sadite 
majesty  y  enuoyer.  vne  place  commode  pour  leur  demeure. 

iiij 

Sj  audict  lieu  est  eu,  ils  ne  pourroient  pas  aediffier  vne  ville  pour 
leur  seuret^,  la  munir  de  fortiflications  requises,  dans  laquelle  ils 
pourroient  eslire  gouuerneur  et  majistrats  pour  lexercice  tant  de 
la  police  que  de  la  iustice  ;  soubs  les  lois  fundamentales  qujla  pleu 
ou  plaira  a  sadicte  majesty  establir  ausdites  terres. 


Sj  sadite  majeste  ne  leur  voudroit  pas  donner  canons  et  munitions 
pour  la  manuteiion  de  ladite  place,  leur  octroyer  droit  en  cas  de 
necessity  de  batre  poudre,  composer  boullets,  et  fondre  canons  sous 
les  panonceaus  &  amies  de  sadite  majesty. 


'  A  clerical  mistake  for  1621.     See  above,  page  163,  note. 


APPENDIX. 


349 


vj 

Si  elle  ne  leur  voudroit  pas  conceder  vne  banlieue  ou  territoiie  de 
huit  mille  angloises  la  ronde  cest  a  dire  seze  niille  dcdianietre  dans 
iequel  ils  pourroient  cultiuer  champs  pres  vignes  et  aiitres  conimo' 
diles  Iequel  territoire  soit  conjointement  soil  diiiiseur  ils  tiendroicnv 
de  sadite  majesty  a  foy  et  honunage  telle  que  trouucrra  raisou- 
nable  sadite  majesttl  sans  quautre  y  peut  demouier  sans  prandre 
lettre  de  baillette  dens  des  terres  y  contenues  dans  lesquelles  ils 
se  restrueroient  droit  seignoirial  subalterne  et  sil  ne  seroit  pas 
permis  a  ceus  d'entreus  quj  pourroient  viure  noblement  de  se  dire 
tels. 

vij 

Silsne  pourroient  pas  chasseresdites  terres  a  poil  et  a  plume  pes- 
cher  en  mer  et  riuieres  couper  arbres  de  haute  futaye  et  autres  tant 
pour  la  nauigation  que  autres  negoces  selon  leur  volunte  en  fin  se 
seruir  de  tout  ce  quj  seroit  tant  dessus  que  dessous  terre  sauue  les 
droits  royaus  aleurs  plaisir  et  volunt^  et  du  tout  traflRquerauecq  les 
personnes  quj  leurs  seroient  permises. 

Lesquelles  choses  sestendroient  seulement  ausdites  families  et 
aus  leurs  sans  que  ceus  quj  viendroient  denouueau  audit  territoire 
sen  peussent  preualloir  quentend  que  ils  leurs  concederoient  selon 
leur  puissance  et  non  audela  sj  sadite  majeste  ne  leur  concedoit  de 
nouueau. 

Et  pource  quils  ont  entendu  que  sadite  majeste  a  establj  vne 
maison  commune  a  Londres  dans  laquelle  non  aiileurs  on  doit 
descharger  les  marchandises  quj  viennent  desdites  terres  consider- 
ant  quil  est  plus  que  raisonnable  que  ceus  quj  par  leur  labeur  et 
Industrie  ont  donne  au  public  la  iouissance  de  ceste  terre  iouissent 
les  premiers  des  fruits  dicelle  se  sousmetteront  aus  constitutions 
quj  pour  cet  effet  y  ont  este  establies  lesquelles  pour  meilleur  entre- 
tien  leur  seront  communiques, 

Soubs  lesquelles  conditions  et  priuileges  ils  prometteroient  foy  et 
obeissance  telle  que  doiuent  fidelles  et  obeissans  subjects  a  leur 
Roy  et  souuerain  Seigneur  se  sousmetteront  aus  lois  generalle- 
ment  establies  ausdites  terres  de  tout  leur  pouuoir. 

Sur  ce  que  dessus  mondict  Seigneur  lAm- 
bassadeur  donnera  auis  sil  luy  plaist  comme 
aussj  sj  son  plaisir  seroit  de  faire  expedier 
ledict  priuilege  en  forme  deue  le  plustost 
que  faire  se  pourra  a  cause  dr  neu  detem[?3 
quj  reste  dicy  au  mars  (te.iips  commode 
pour  lembarquemt)  pour  faire  lacceuil  de 
tout  ce  quj  est  requis  ce  faisant  obligera  seS; 
sei  uiteurs  a  prier  Dieu  pour  laccomplissemt 
de  ses  saincts  deseins  et  pour  sa  sante  et 
longue  vie. 

JESSE   DE  FOREST. 
Indorsed  : — Supplicaofl  of  certaine  Wallons  and  French  who  are 
desirous  to  goe  into  Verginia. 

[Inclosed  in  Sir  Dudley  Carleton's  letter  dated  19  July,  1621.] 


1621, 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


1.0 


I.I 


J^iia  iiM 

110    11 2.0 


1.25 


U    11.6 


V] 


*1 


°a 


/>^ 


/^ 


V 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


<;. 


^"^. 


%^      4 


> 


l62I. 


350  APPENDIX. 


ANSWER  OF  THE  VIRGINIA  COMPANY. 
[State  Papers,  Colonial,  Vol  I.,  No.  55.] 

[See  above,  pages  163-165.] 

The  humble  answere  of  so  many  of  His  Ma'iss 
Councell  for  Virginia  as  could  at  present  bee  assem- 
bled, they  being  in  His  Higiines  name  required  by 
the  Rt  Hoble  Sr  George  Calvert  Principall  Secretary 
of  State,  to  deliver  their  opinion  concerning  certaine 
Articles  putt  vp  by  some  Walloones  and  ffrenche- 
men  desirous  to  goe  to  Virginia. 

for  the  ffirst  If  it  stand  w'''  His  Ma''es  gratious  favour  they  do 
not  conceive  it  any  inconvenience  at  present  to  suffer 
sixtie  families  of  Walloones  and  ffrenchmen  not 
exceeding  the  nomber  of  300  persons  to  goe  and 
inhabite  in  Virginia,  The  sayd  persons  resoluing 
and  taking  oath  to  become  His  Ma''=s  and  His  Suc- 
cessours  faithfuU  and  obedient  subjects  :  and  being 
willing  as  they  make  profession  to  agree  in  points  of 
faith.  So  likewise  to  bee  conformable  to  the  forme 
of  gouvernm'  now  established  in  the  Churche  of 
England. 

for  the  second  They  esteeme  it  so  Royall  a  favour  in  His  Ma"e. 
and  so  singula[r]  a  benefitt  to  the  sayd  Walloones 
and  ffrenchemen  to  bee  admitted  to  live  in  that 
fruitefull  land  vnder  the  proteccion  and  gouv- 
ernm'  of  so  mighty  and  pious  a  Monarch  as  His 
Ma"e  is,  that  they  ought  not  to  expect  of  His  sacred 
Ma'ie  any  ayde  of  shipping  or  other  chargeable 
favour.  And  as  for  the  Company  for  Virginia  their 
stock  is  so  vtterly  exhausted  by  theese  three  last 
yeares  supplies,  as  they  are  not  able  to  giue 
them  any  farther  helpe  in  that  kinde,  then  onely 
in  point  of  advise  &  Councell,  for  the  cheapest 
transportation  of  themselues  and  goodes,  and  the 
most  frugall  and  profitable  managing  of  their 
affayres,  if  His  Royal  Ma'ie  please  so  to  comn^-anti 
them. 

ffor  the  3. 4.  5.  They  conceiue  that  for  the  prosperity  and  principally 
6. 7.  Articles  the  securing  of  the  plantacion  in  His  Ma"es  obedi- 
ence, it  is  not  expedient  that  the  sayd  ffaniilies 
should  sett  downe  in  one  grosse  and  entire  bodie 
wch  the  demaundes  cpecifyed,  but  that  they  should 
rather  bee  placed  by  convenient  nombers  in  the 
principall  Citties,  Borroughes  and  Corporacions  in 
Virginia,  as  themselues  shall  choose.  There  being 
giuen  vnto  them  such  proporcion  of  land  and  all 


APPENDIX. 


351 


other  priviledges  and  benefitts  whatsoever  in  as 
ample  manner  as  to  the  naturall  Englishe,  And  this 
course  they  out  of  their  experience  do  conceiue 
likely  to  proue  better,  and  more  comfortable  to  the 
sayd  Walloons  and  ffrenchemen,  then  that  other 
wch  they  desire. 

All  theese  their  opinions  they  do  most  humbly  submitt  to  the  most 
excellent  wisdome  of  His  sacred  Ma'ie 

signed  by 

JOHN  FERRAR,  Deputy. 

Indorsed  : —  "  xj,  August  1621 

Copie  of  the  answere  made  by  the  Virginia  Company 
to  the  request  made  by  the  Wallons  and  Frenche  to 
plant  themselues  in  Virginia." 


1621. 


THE  WALLOON  AND  FRENCH  PETITIONERS. 

[See  above,  pages  162,  173,  seg.] 

"  The  Signature  of  such  Walloons  and  French  as  offer  them- 
selves to  goe  into  Verginia,"  is  preserved  in  the  British  Public  Record 
Office,  London.  (State  Papers,  Colonial,  Vol.  I.,  No.  54.*)  An 
application  kindly  made  in  my  behalf,  in  November,  1880,  by  Ar- 
thur Giraud  Browning,  Esq.,  of  London,  for  permission  to  have  a 
photograph  of  this  document  made,  was  most  courteously  granted. 
An  engraving  of  the  petition  appears  in  the  present  work.  The 
original  measures  eighteer  by  thirteen  and  a  half  inches.  The  sig- 
natures, accompanied  with  a  statement  of  the  calling  of  each  per- 
son, are  arranged  in  the  forni  of  a  "round  robin,"  encircling  the 
"  promise"  made  by  the  signers  to  fulfill,  the  conditions  set  forth  in 
their  communication  to  the  English  ambassador. 

With  the  valued  hel])  of  the  Librarian  of  the  Walloon  Librarj'  in 
Leyden,  I  have  ascertained  that  the  greater  number  of  these  peti- 
tioners were  members  of  the  Walloon  Church  in  that  city.  The 
investigation  made  has  also  enabled  me  to  present  the  names,  many 
of  which  are  written  very  indistinctly,  with  greater  correctness. 
Several  of  them  were  not  to  be  found  in  the  Walloon  records  of  Ley- 
den; and  it  is  likely  that  the  signers  belonged  to  other  cities.  Many 
names  reappear  in  those  records  after  an  interval  of  three  or  four 
years.  The  persons  thus  named  may  have  emigrated  to  New 
Netherland,  and  returned  to  "  Fatherland,"  as  dominie  Michaelius 
wrote,  August  11,  1628,  that"  a  portion  of  them"  were  about 
to  do. 

•'  Signatures : " 

f       5  [6]  enfans    Jesse  de  Forest  tincturier 

f  2  enfans    Nycolas  de  la  Marlier  tainturier 

fme  Jan  Damont  laboureur 


352 


APPENDIX. 


1 62 1,     fme        3  enfans 
f  5  enfans 

fme  5  enfans 
fme  4  enfans 
fme  5  enfans 
fme  I  enfans 
fme  4  enfans 
fme  4  enfans 
fme  I  enfans 
fme  I  enfans 
Jeune  tils 
fme  I  enfans 
fme  2  enfans 
Homme  a  marier 
Jeune  fils  [erased] 
Homme  a  marier 
Jeune  fils  [erased] 


fe 

fe 

fme 

fme 

I 

f 

fme 

fme 

fme 

fme 


2  enfans 


enfans 
enfans 
enfans 
enfans 


5  enfans 

4  enfans 

Jeune  fils 

I  enfans 

Jeune  homnie 

fme         5  enfans 

f  2  enfans 

Jeunne  fs 

f  4  enfans 

fme        6  enfans 

fme        2  enfans 

Jeune  fils 

Homme  a  marier 


fe 

fe 

fe 

fme 

fme 


fe 
fme 


6  enfans 
5  enfans 
2  enfans 
5  enfans 

1  enfan 

Jeune  fils 

Jeune  fils 

Jeune  fille 

Jeunne  fils 

2  enfans 
Jeune  fils 

7  enfans 


fme       4  enfans 


Jan  Gille  laboureur 

Jan  de  Trou  paigneur  en  laine 

Phlipe  Maton  teinturie  et  deux  serviteur 

Anthoyne  de  Violate  vigneron  de  vingne 

Ernou  Catoir  paignier 

Anthoin  Desendre  laboureur 

Abel  de  Crepy  ouvrier  de  la  navette 

Adrien  Barbe  tainturier 

Michelle  Censier  ticheran  de  drape 

Jerome  Le  Roy  tischeron  de  drape 

Claude  Ghiselin  tailleur  dabits 

Jan  de  Crenne  facteur 

Louis  Broque  laboureur 

Mousnier  de  la  Montagne  estudient  en  medicine. 

Mousnier  de  la  Montagne  pharmacien  et  chir- 

[urgien. 
Jacque  Conne  laboureur  de  terre 
Henry  Lambert  drapier  de  drap 
Jorge  le  ca[    ]  charger 
Michel  du  ^  on  chapiller 
Jan  Billt  [  Billet  ?J  laboureur 
PoUe  de  Pasar  tiseran 
Antoine  Gremier  gardener 
Jean  Gourdeman  laboureur 
Jean  Campion  painnier 
Jan  de  la  Mot  laboureur 
Antoinne  Martin 

Franchois  Fourdrin  passeur  de  peau 
Jan  le  Ca  laboureur 
Theodor  du  Four  drapier 
Gillam  Broque  laboureur 
Gouerge  Woutre 
Jan  Sage  sairger 

Mari  Flip  au  nom  de  son  mari  munier 
P.  Gantois  Estudiant  en  Theologie 
Jacques  de  Lechielles  brasseur 
Jan  le  Rou  imprimeur 
marque  de  Jan  de  Croy  scieur  de  boy 
marq  de  Challe  Channy  laboureur 
marq  de  Francoi  Clitden  laboureur 
Flipe  Campion  drapepier 
Robert  Broque  laboureur 
Philippe  de  Le  ouvrier  charpentier 
Jenne  Martin 
Pie  e  Cornille  vingeron 
Jan  du  Carpentrij  laboureur 
Martin  de  Carpentier  fondeur  de  cuivre 
Thomas  Farnarcque  serrurier 
Pierre  Gaspar 
Gregoire  le  Jeune  cordonnier 


APPENDIX. 


353 


fine         I  enfans 
Homme  a  marier 
fine         3  enfans 
fe  8  enfans 


Martin  Framerie  musicien 
Pierre  (2uiesnier  brasseur 
Pont  us  ie  Geay  faisseur  dtstamin 
Bartlielemy  Digaud  scyeur  de  bois 


1621. 


NOTES  FROM  THE  WALLOON  RECORDS  OF  LEYDEN. 

De  la  Marlier.  Jean  de  ia  Marlier  was  witness  to  the  baptism 
of  Philippe,  son  of  Jesse  de  Forest  and  Marie  du  Cloux,  in  the  Wal- 
loon Ciiurch  of  Leyden,  September  13,  i6zo. 

Damont.  P'rangoise  Damont,  a  native  of  Liege,  was  married, 
Dei-eniber  15,  1633. 

GiLLE.  Jean  Gille,  a  native  of  Lille,  was  married  to  Cataline 
Face,  of  Leyden,  October  17,  161 5. 

Maton.  Piiilippe  Maton,  a  native  of  Fourcoin,  was  married  to 
Plulippotte  Caron,  January  lo,  1599. 

Cai'OIR.  a  child  of  Ariioul  Catoire,  was  baptized  September  23, 
1618. 

Desendre.  Aiuhoine  Decende  witnessed  the  baptism  of  a  child 
of  Jean  de  Croi,  March  28,  1621. 

Crepy.  AiielCiepy  and  Jaquemiiie  de  Lannoy  presented  their 
daughter  Susanne  for  baptism,  February  6,  1627. 

IJari?!':.  Adrien  Harbe  \\as  witness  to  the  baptism  of  Adrien.son 
of  Jean  Harlie,  September  14,  1625. 

Le  Roy.  Jerosnie  le  Roy,  a  native  of  Armenti^res,  was  married 
to  Susanne  le  Per,  of  Norwich,  England,  November  i,  1620. 

Gkiselin.  Claude  Gyselin  was  witness  to  the  baptism  of  a  child 
of  (iregoire  le  Jeune,  March  28,  1621. 

Censier.  Michelle,  daughter  of  Michel  Censier,  was  baptized 
September  29,  16^.4. 

I)E  Cranne.  Jean  de  Cranne  was  a  witness  to  the  baptism  of  a 
child  of  (Jregoire  le  Jeune,  March  28,  162 1. 

Broque.  Louis  Broque  and  Chertruy  Quinze  presented  their  son 
Pierre  for  baptism,  January  30,  1622. 

CoiNNE.  Jaques  Coinne,  a  native  of  Ron,  near  Lille,  was  mar- 
ried to  Christienne  liaseu  (or  le  Paiseur),  of  Fourcoin,  July  27, 
i6'4.     Their  son  Noe  was  baptized  June  28,  1620. 

Lambert.  Henri  Lambert,  was  receivetl  to  the  Holy  Commun- 
ion, at  Pentecost,  1620,  upon  confession  of  his  faith.  Henri  Lam- 
bert, born  near  Limbourg,  and  Anne  Digan,  of  Noyelles  in  Hain- 
ault,  were  married  November  i,  1620.  (Another  Henri  Lambert, 
a  native  of  Liege,  was  married  November  10,  1621,  to  Margueiite 
Simon.) 

Du  PoN.  Michiel  du  Pon,  a  native  of  Valenciennes,  was  married 
to  Nicok'  Billet,  of  Herdeyn,  July  5,  1597. 

Ca\1iM()X.  Jean  Campion,  a  native  of  Artois,  was  married  to 
Isal)eau  Cap,  August  25,  1607. 

De  La  MoI'.  Jean  de  la  Mote  and  Marie  Fache,  his  wife,  pre- 
sented their  son  Jean  for  liajiUsm,  November  10,  1622. 


354 


APPENDIX. 


162 1.         Martin.     Antoine  Martin,  born  nea-  St.  Amand.  was  married 
to  Prudence  Husse,  of  St.  Amand,  December  8,  1619, 

1  ^^S^'rl^^"  '^  ^^'  ^  "^''^^  "^  Halewyn,  was  married  lo  Marie 
des  Pr^,  of  Monvau,  January  7,  16 17. 

Du  FoiTR.  Theodore  du  Four  and  Sara  Nicaise,  his  wife,  nre- 
sented  their  daughter  Madelaine  for  baptism.  July  24.  1616 

Broque.  Giliain  Broquewas  a  witness  to  the  baptism  of  Pierre 
son  of  Louis  and  Chertruy  Broque,  January  30,  1622 

SAGE.  Marie,  fille  de  Jean  le  Sage,  was  baptized  in  March 
1005.  ' 

De  Lechielles.  Jaques  de  Lespielle  witnessed,  with  Jesse  and 
Rachel  de  Forest,  to  the  baptism  of  Henri  Lambert's  son  Henri 
August  I,  1621. 

,,r^f  ^-'^^y-  T^°  children  of  Jean  de  Croi  were  baptized  in  the 
Walloon  Church,  April  12,  161 5.  and  March  28.  162 1. 

Du  Carpentry.  Jean  des  Carpentry,  a  native  of  Landa 
[Landas.  m  Flanders],  was  married  to  Anna  Chotein,  from  the 
neighborhood  of  St.  Amand,  March  10,  1619. 

Farnarcque,  Thomas  Farvarque  and  Marie,  his  wife,  pre- 
sented their  son  Abraham  for  baptism.  August  4,  1624. 

Le  Jeune.  Gr^goire  le  Jeune  and  his  wife  Jenne  de  Merre  pre- 
sented their  son  Isaac  for  baptism.  March  28,  1621. 

Framerie.  Martin  Framerie  and  Marie  Frangcis  his  wife,  pre- 
sented their  son  Zacharie  for  baptism,  October  25.  1620. 

QUIESNIEP..  Pierre  Quesnee.  or  Quesnoy.  a  native  of  Fourcoin. 
and  Mane  le  Per,  of  Wacka,  near  Lille,  were  married,  February 
27,  i^iy. 

DiGAND.  Barth^l^my  Digand  and  Frangoise  Fregeau  his  wife 
presented  their  son  Isaac  for  baptism,  March  i,  162a 


B 


■-mta^memmmmnammm 


lAtiiKitude 


WeHt    flrom 


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PROVINCES  OF  POITOU.  AUNII 


F  POITOU.  AUNIS  AND   SAINTONGE. 


